The U.S. Climate Forest Finance Initiative

The U.S. Climate Forest Finance Initiative catalyzes private investment into U.S. forests and the associated infrastructure needed to restore and manage them. This Initiative was created by the Impact Finance Center (IFC) and is supported by the U.S. Forest Service.

IFC is building the financial infrastructure that drives investment capital to social ventures working in sustainable forestry. IFC identifies, educates, and activates investors who are passionate about making a positive impact through their financial decisions. This community of new investors can co-invest with the public sector to solve challenges in sustainable forestry and the sustainable wood economy.

Just like the U.S. Forest Service grows trees, IFC grows investors.

Enhancing the Sustainable Forestry Supply Chain Through Aligned Impact Investing: The Case of the U.S. Sustainable Wood Economy

Billions of dollars are required to address the decline in the sustainable wood products market. Investment is needed for nurseries, workforce development, logging operations, mills, cross laminated facilities, bioenergy facilities, and mass timber buildings. Conventional investing is insufficient to fix the problem, but closing the financial gap is possible.

By taking a page out of the EDA Build to Scale Capital and Venture Challenge, the Forest Service can make investments to develop investor accelerators, marketplaces, and capital aggregators and provide a way for individuals and organizations to invest in their communities.

What will you find in this paper?

• The problems facing the sustainable wood economy, including the massive financial gap
• An IFC solution called Main Street 2.0 that enables investors to direct their finances towards places and issues they care about while generating reasonable financial returns