Green Gold Forestry (GGF), founded in 2007, is a sustainable forestry company in Iquitos, a remote Amazonian region of Peru. Through community sourcing and responsible concession extractions, GGF brings the benefits of a lucrative international lumber trade to the bottom of the economic pyramid. After harvesting, GGF processes logs at a sawmill in Iquitos. Cut limber is dried and planed and then sold as premium quality hardwood products, such as flooring and decking in international markets.
GGF sources its lumber from legal, sustainable sources:
- Two granted concessions with over 110,000 hectares of forest, harvested with a low-impact methodology that extracts just one tree per hectare every 20 years
- Low-income and remote Amazonian communities, which manage forests and extract wood sustainably with the help of GGF’s Community Development Program
- Third parties that extract wood legally and sustainably
GGF is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which verifies social and environmental practices of forestry companies.
In September 2014, GBF committed a long-term, mezzanine loan to help GGF finance working capital.
GBF BAS & GREEN GOLD FORESTRY:
GBF’s Business Advisory Services are helping GGF undertake an in-depth assessment of their environmental and social impacts and identify areas for improvement. GBF plans to further aid capacity building by helping GGF manage costs, further develop its supplier community programs, and strengthen corporate governance.
Financial Management: Working to identify a cost management expert to improve forest management efficiency
Environmental & Social (E&S): Conducting an E&S review to confirm sustainable forestry practices and support for Amazonian communities
GGF’s business philosophy is committed to sustainable, social and environmentally responsible forestry, helping connect low-income communities to a lucrative international market.
- GGF helps organize remote communities as lumber suppliers through a community development program; Communities of 40-80 families receive help acquiring certifications and work with GGF equipment to sustainably extract lumber
- GGF trains and provides direct income for community leaders and organizers
- In 2014, GGF helped form two supplier communities; the company plans to form an additional two per year
- GBF estimates that GGF generates an estimated $74,000 in income annually for its workers and supplier community members
- Income from GGF helps support 101 workers and community members directly, and an additional 304 dependents
- Using a 10-year estimate of GGF’s economic reflows and total capital required, GBF calculates a 30% “Economic Rate of Return” for capital employed in GGF
- GBF estimates that 46% of the projected economic value created by GGF goes to benefit low-income groups
Learn more about Our Approach to Measurement.
