Seeing the wood for the trees

Forico is Tasmania’s largest private forest and land asset manager, overseeing an estate of more than 170,000 hectares of land — 77,000 of which are natural forest managed by Forico for biodiversity and conservation purposes.

With support from KPMG Australia, Forico released Natural Capital Reports in 2020 and 2021, demonstrating their commitment to protect and enhance nature, while delivering tangible environmental and social benefits to society. The reports place a value on natural capital — raising the bar for environmental stewardship and corporate sustainability reporting.

Forico has positioned itself as a leader in this space, by placing natural capital preservation at the center of their business — not as an add-on or a cost saving initiative.

Valuing natural capital is a new endeavor that requires companies to report on complex, often unknown impacts and interdependencies with nature.

As Forico’s environmental auditors, KPMG Australia combines financial and scientific expertise. Our role is to validate the claims being made in the report, which calls for an in-depth understanding of biodiversity, hydrological patterns and forestry management. This work includes physical checks and tests on biomass, the condition of trees, vegetation and animals, and detailed calculations on hydrocarbon sequestration and hydro modelling — to validate the carbon footprint and water usage.

This highly specialized, rigorous and independent assurance helps Forico refine its measurement and reporting process, enabling continuous improvement of its land management and placing the company in a strong position to attract investment.

Human activity has altered the majority of the world’s land and marine environments, which has reduced the productivity of almost a quarter of the global land surface and caused ocean ‘dead zones’ covering a combined area greater than that of the UK.¹

Forico’s natural capital report demonstrates that traditional financial measures alone are no longer enough to value a business’ impacts. The report gives stakeholders the kind of detailed information they need to reallocate resources and reward responsible investments.

The quality of Forico’s natural capital report has not gone unnoticed. At the prestigious, 2022 ‘Finance for the Future Awards’ in London, UK, the company received awards for ‘Embedding an Integrated Approach’ and for ‘Climate Leadership’.

Through its outstanding work, Forico has shown how businesses can generate profits and positively impact nature and its communities. In future years, KPMG Australia is set to help Forico continue to improve its reporting, to provide an even more encompassing story of value preservation and creation.

KPMG Australia’s Climate Change and Sustainability practice identifies risks and opportunities that helps businesses gain strategic insights toward a more sustainable world.