Reports
Published: 4 June 2021

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

Forest destruction and degradation is accelerating the severe climate and nature crises facing the world. Halting business practices that contribute to this degradation is a vital priority and investment in forest conservation and restoration is urgently needed. Investing in forests fulfils multiple corporate priorities. Beyond contributing to tackling the nature and climate crises, it has potential to sustain business resilience, embody values-led leadership and boost profitability and growth – the economic value of forests is vast, with one estimate suggesting the total value of intact forests and their ecosystem services to be as much as $150 trillion, around double the value of global stock markets.

Forest destruction and degradation is accelerating the severe climate and nature crises facing the world. Halting business practices that contribute to this degradation is a vital priority and investment in forest conservation and restoration is urgently needed. Investing in forests fulfils multiple corporate priorities. Beyond contributing to tackling the nature and climate crises, it has potential to sustain business resilience, embody values-led leadership and boost profitability and growth – the economic value of forests is vast, with one estimate suggesting the total value of intact forests and their ecosystem services to be as much as $150 trillion, around double the value of global stock markets.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum reports may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum