About us

Taking action

The companies united in the REDD+ Business Initiative aim to support the further development of the UN’s REDD+ mechanism as referred to in article 5 of the Paris Agreement. REDD+ is the most effective instrument to reduce deforestation in the tropics at scale.

However, formal implementation of REDD+ is much too slow. Therefore, our members are taking early action and use the voluntary carbon market to catalyse the reduction of deforestation in the tropics, which of course also has a number of related benefits such as preserving biodiversity, clean water and supporting local communities.

Our flagship project – Tambopata

The Tambopata project will avoid 4.2 million tonnes of CO2 by 2021, and our support is critical. Since 2013 the members of the REDD+ Business Initiative have purchased just over one million tonnes of CO2 reductions. The initiative picked this leading project in order to demonstrate what is possible through REDD+, and help contribute to global REDD+ policy development, as Peru is a front runner in this area.

Situated in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon region, the project boundary includes nearly 600,000 hectares (an area about the size of Los Angeles) of protected rainforest and a buffer zone of commercially viable cacao agroforestry. Avoiding about 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum, the project’s integrated production/protection model also supports 400 local jobs, has secured 288 land titles for local farmers, and has created a locally-run cacao cooperative.

This project is implemented on the ground by the Peruvian NGO, AIDER.

Visit Ecosphere+ for more information about this flagship project.

Between 2000 and 2005, an area five times the size of the Netherlands of tropical forest was cut.

The project in Peru where the REDD + Business Initiative is a part of helps ensure that

0 hectares of forest is protected, an area five times as large as the Veluwe
0 local families benefit from organic farming through REDD +
0 critically endangered species are protected
0 new species where discovered in the area: biodiversity is mapped and monitored

Calculate your carbon footprint through the REDD+ Business Initiative

Companies are integrating forest conservation into their climate and sustainability strategies in a variety of ways. Read more about how our members are using carbon credits in their business strategies to address climate change targets, zero-deforestation commitments, fulfil cradle-to-cradle requirements and offer carbon neutral products.

You can take action today through the REDD+ Business Initiative. You can use this free online carbon calculator tool to take the first step and measure the carbon footprint of your business’s activities.

You can then take action to rebalance this, address your climate impacts and support forest conservation at Tambopata immediately. Click here for more information and to use the tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Businesses of all sizes around the world are looking for meaningful solutions to the climate crisis, and working together we can do so much more. The REDD+ Business Initiative was founded to make this happen. It is a unified platform to protect and conserve our natural capital as a powerful contribution to the fight against climate change. We know that nature-based solutions such as sustainable agriculture and forest conservation are able to deliver nearly 40% of the emissions reductions needed to secure a 1.5oC pathway.  And we know we have limited time to make this happen.   

“Deforestation is not one of the challenges in the fight against climate change, it is the most important, most immediate and most urgent challenge”. (Paul Polman, 2014).

There is a strong business case for becoming a member of the REDD+ Business Initiative. A major benefit is the support you get for integrating REDD+ in your business strategy. This results in a concrete, measurable contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement in a cost-effective way and with immediate results.

As a member you can help leverage the billions in public ‘seed funding’ already committed to REDD+, which offers you direct interaction with the most important actors in this field (NGOs, NL & EU Governments). It offers you an international stage to present your company as part of a powerful coalition. And last but not least; working on REDD+ with a broad range of companies is an inspiring and motivating experience.

The REDD+ Business Initiative includes companies from a variety of sectors who have all purchased VCS verified carbon credits from REDD+ projects globally, totalling 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 since 2013. These carbon credits are purchased on a voluntary basis in order to further encourage REDD+, conserve biodiversity and support sustainable agriculture to reduce the pressure on forests. Members integrate the carbon credits into their broader strategies to manage climate risk, achieve zero deforestation commitments, meet Cradle to Cradle certification and to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.          

Nature’s solution: REDD+

REDD + stands for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus enhancement of carbon stocks and sustainable forest management.  REDD+ was envisaged as a financing mechanism that brings value to standing forests and enables governments and businesses to support vital climate change mitigation and adaptation activities today.   REDD+ was negotiated and developed within the UNFCCC and is explicitly noted in the Paris agreement.   Forests should be our greatest ally in regulating our climate, but rampant deforestation now causes more CO2 emissions annually than all cars, airplanes, trains and ships globally.  Addressing deforestation is also crucial for maintaining biodiversity and for the livelihood of 1.3 billion low-income people. Buying carbon credits from a REDD+ project such as Tambopata-Bahuaja advances nearly all of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Every euro spent in Tambopata is a real contribution to reduce the CO-2-emissions caused by deforestation. And the additional benefits for local welfare and wildlife diversity are a welcome bonus”. Patrick Lammers, CEO Essent

Find out more about Tambopata here.

Carbon credits generated by the Tambopata-Bahuaja Reserve REDD+ project are formally acknowledged by the Peruvian Ministry of Environment (MINAM) and are accounted for in the country’s national registry through a ‘nested’ approach.  Nesting our project within Peru’s REDD+ programme means that the retired carbon credits, even internationally transacted ones, are not double counted. Avoiding double counting is essential to achieving a 1.5oC warming scenario and ensures the credibility of corporate climate action claims.