Target the right corporates by understanding their needs
I recently had the pleasure of participating in the CE Events & Media Corporate Investments into Forestry & Biodiversity conference in London.
It was a great event, and inspiring to see the work on the ground of several project developers spanning 5 continents.
But there were mixed tones. The ambition to get things done is not being matched by the capital required to fuel action at the scale needed.
I listened to success stories of project developers securing big name offset partners (like Funga’s partnership with Netflix), systems for improving efficiency and removing bottlenecks for project developers to get funded (like Symbiosis), and Tāmata Hauhā describe the fortunate enabling environment provided to them by the New Zealand compliance market – making participants envious of this Indigenous-benefitting investment model. I also had the pleasure of discussing the importance of large-scale forestry and working forests when we’re talking about nature-based solutions.
At the same time, I was having conversations off the stage. 2000 employees released overnight from company A, and 6000 from company B. Many corporations are struggling. Despite the wish to become engaged in forest production, restoration and conservation – something as basic as a company’s current financial position may make this impossible. I draw parallels with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Though a psychological approach to understanding human needs for survival, I think the analogy fits well with the corporate world.
As NbS project developers and traditional forest investment managers seek capital from corporates as new investors into the space, it helps to understand where those corporates are in the hierarchy. If they are at the top of the pyramid, you’re going to have much better chances of raising funds than if a corporation has been bumped down a few notches on the pyramid and they are purely trying to meet their regulatory requirements and stay afloat.
Where do the corporations you’re in discussions with sit on this pyramid? Or if you work for a corporation yourself, where does it lie?
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