Timber, Pulp, and Paper: An Overview of ESG and Climate Risks for Investors

Protecting forests is essential to meeting targets set out by The Paris Agreement. Tropical forests could provide up to 30% of the mitigation required to combat climate change. While palm oil, cattle and soy are major drivers of deforestation, around a quarter of forest degradation and loss is driven by forestry activities. As such, they pose major financial and reputational risks to companies in the timber and pulp sector. An increasing number of financial institutions and major brands are adopting commitments to mitigate these risks and address deforestation in their portfolios and supply chains, but more action is needed to protect forests. This webinar, co-hosted by PRI and ZSL SPOTT, will highlight the main ESG risks posed by the timber and pulp industry, take stock of the current state of private sector commitments in relation to timber and pulp products and highlight the importance of scrutinizing upstream companies to ensure the effective implementation of these commitments. SPOTT supports the finance sector and supply chain stakeholders to manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. Their Timber and Pulp platform assesses 97 timber and pulp producers, processors and traders on the public disclosure of their policies, operations and commitments to environmental, social and governance (ESG) best practice. The agenda will include: (1) An overview of the latest SPOTT Timber and Pulp benchmark, including key ESG and climate issues identified and progress to date; (2) A company perspective on implementing best practices in managing ESG and climate issues within their operations and supply chain; (3) An investor case study about their approach to ESG and climate risks and opportunities management in the Timber, Pulp and Paper sector. All interested investors are welcome to register. A recording of the webinar will be made available afterwards for those who cannot attend.