OUR STORY
CSFEP was founded in 2019, when a coalition that included the World Resources Institute, The Nature Conservancy, the World Economic Forum, and EIT Climate-KIC, with support from the Good Energies Foundation, set out to answer the question:
Can forest product industries, such as biobased construction, be used to fund improved forest management?
2020-2022: PROOF OF CONCEPT
Calling itself the "Climate Smart Forest Economy Program" or CSFEP, this coalition launched 15 pilots in 10 countries, half above the equator and half below. Dalberg Catalyst served as the fiscal sponsor and project manager.
Image credit: Easy Housing
Each pilot explored whether it was possible to create truly climate positive buildings by tracing materials back to their forest origins and making the best choices across the supply chain—and in the forest itself.
Image credit: Photo taken by BuildX Studio onsite at The Rewildings Project
In the end, these pilots, called Breakthrough Initiatives, produced buildings that were climate positive by an average of 22.339 tCO2. CSFEP estimated that the potential for impact was even greater: by making different decisions in the forests and across the value chain, the initiatives could have further increased climate outcomes by 24-56%.
2023-2024: LEARNING AND ADAPTING
While this success was exciting, CSFEP soon realized that a model of working with individual buildings was not enough to drive broader change. To achieve the impact it sought, CSFEP would have to work with businesses, investors, policymakers and others across the forest-to-products ecosystem on changing the entire value chain and enabling environment.
By 2024, CSFEP had identified East Africa as its first region to test the potential for launching such a coalition. It held one-on-one conversations with over 25 businesses and organisations active in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, then convened five workshops.
By late 2023, the CSFEP team pivoted to building a network of regional coalitions, one that could work to effect change across the value chain, impacting many buildings simultaneously. It also narrowed its scope to low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the Global South, where population growth and urbanization are currently greatest.
2025-2027: SCALING AND SHARING
Beginning in 2025, CSFEP will formally launch an East Africa coalition, focused on building a regenerative forest products economy in the region.
At the same time, we will begin laying the groundwork for a coalition in another low-or medium-income country in the Global South. As soon as we are achieving early results in East Africa, we will test the coalition model in a new region.
Image credit: Easy Housing
Throughout this period, we will be working to influence a broader movement by sharing what we’re learning with partners. By the end of 2027, we expect to see several examples of pilots, policies, tools, or practices that were developed in the coalitions being adopted in other regions.
By 2027, we expect to have standardized our model for scale and launched four coalitions across the Global South.
In each region, we will aim for a 40% increase in:
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Revenue to forests
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Forests under climate adaptation management, and
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Micro, small, and medium-sized businesses adopting climate-resilient models.
Image credit: CASSA
OUR LEARNINGS
Read more about what CSFEP has learned along the way:
OUR EARLY PARTNERS
We are so grateful for the support of our early funders and collaborators:
