The Nature Conservancy programs
sustainable forest management
In 2022, Ashland looked far beyond its own walls to address broader sustainability-related programs by expanding its support of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) by donating $25,000 toward TNC’s STEM youth engagement Nature Lab, and providing an additional $25,000 in funding toward that organization’s Plant a Billion Trees forest restoration project.
These projects that support sustainable forestry, STEM education, and conservation underscore Ashland’s focus on community engagement with a STEM focus, and the broader need to fund practical ways to engage and enlist the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators. TNC’s reforestation program can have a profound impact on local conservation and restoration efforts and can play a vital role in curbing the effects of climate change and habitat loss. Ashland’s donation funds the planting of roughly 10,000 trees through The Nature Conservancy. Once mature, these trees could absorb 480,000 pounds of carbon dioxide offsets annually, based on estimates from the Arbor Day Foundation.
In 2022, Ashland obtained FSC and PEFC certification for responsible sourcing of wood-based products. These programs support supply chain transparency and sustainable forest management. At this time, we focus on offering controlled wood-based products to our requesting customers with the goal of educating customers and providing additional certified materials in the future.
At Ashland, we understand there is no Planet B. We are a vital part of an ecosystem that must be protected for future generations. We believe increasing the number of students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM careers is vital to the health of the planet and to our long-term success as a company. We will continue working with partners to broaden the participation of women and minorities because the more diverse the team, the better the problem solving.
Responsibly solving for a better world means innovating while being nature positive. It means doing business in a way that protects and conserves nature while also giving back to the planet.
plant a billion trees
Ashland continues to support a collaborative forest restoration effort of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to help Plant a Billion Trees by 2030. This work advances the broader development goals of the United Nations, particularly the Sustainable Development Goal for Life on Land. Ashland’s donation ensures that approximately 10,000 trees are planted annually in key regions where the company operates, and there is need for reforestation and sustainable farming education. This includes Brazil, China, Mexico, and the United States.
Separately, Ashland has committed to using certification standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). FSC and PEFC certified and controlled wood assures consumers that products can be traced back to responsibly managed sources. These programs embody Ashland’s conscious decision to review and rethink its business practices with the goal to becoming a nature-positive company that positively impacts climate change, biodiversity and just social practices.
youth engagement nature lab
The Nature Conservancy’s Youth Nature Lab exemplifies Ashland’s Responsible Solvers™ social philanthropic focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). TNC’s hub for youth curriculum provides teachers, students, and families customizable, interactive lesson plans to explore and understand nature. The curriculum platform has 550 scientists helping students learn how nature works while inspiring young people and bringing greater equity to environmental education. Students from ages 5 through 18 can participate in virtual and hands-on learning. The Nature Lab reaches more than 2.5 million users annually in 50 of the United States and dozens of countries. Through a partnership with an online learning platform, TNC offers interactive games for students to use alongside videos as well as a Spanish-language series. Under the program, young learners can tackle climate change, protect lands and waters, provide food and water sustainably, and build healthy cities.
Click on the countries below and watch the videos to learn about the specific reforestation actions by The Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy is working to promote large scale forest restoration in two of Brazil's crucial forests - the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado Forest. They are essential not only to the survival of many plant and animal species, but also to the people of Brazil – providing help against climate change, storing and filtering water, helping protect against floods and providing economic opportunities to local communities.
The forests of China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces are home to endangered species including the iconic panda and the golden monkey. Increased development and a growing demand for wood products is turning what used to be some of the most species-rich forests in the world to small, unsustainable groups of trees.
Reforestation in these provinces can help save endangered species, provide clean water and productive farmland for millions of people, and regulate the climate for our planet.
In Southeastern Mexico, the Maya Forest is recognized as the America’s second-largest tropical forest after the Amazon. Encompassing the three states of the Yucatan Peninsula, the steamy tropical jungle famed for Mayan culture harbors iconic wildlife like the jaguar, puma and scarlet macaw. The Mayan forest is also home to vibrant indigenous Mayan communities who continue to practice ancestral farming practices.
In Southwestern Mexico, the Mesoamerican Forest Corridor is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot with diverse forest ecosystems and the America’s northernmost tropical cloudforest. In Chiapas, these forests also produce 30% of the country’s freshwater and sustain the more than 10 indigenous groups.
The Nature Conservancy is working to restore these forests which lose hundreds of thousands of acres yearly due to deforestation.
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The U.S. is home to some of the world's oldest and tallest trees. In addition to being beautiful places for us to recreate, they provide so many benefits, including filtering more than half of our water supply and capturing carbon to help mitigate climate change.
There are many things that pose risk to these forests - fires, invasive pests, and deforestation. Plant a Billion Trees is working to mitigate these risks and restore these forests one tree at a time.
videos
We all need a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health, survival and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.
