First-of-Its-Kind $10M Green Bond Issued to Finance Family Forest Carbon Program to Fight Climate Change

Landmark Deal Enhances Innovative Program's Mission of Expanding Access to Carbon Markets as Natural Climate Solution

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Forest Foundation, the national conservation organization making a meaningful conservation impact through its support of America's family forest owners, today announced that its affiliate, the Family Forest Impact Foundation, issued a $10 million Series 2022A taxable bond to finance the Family Forest Carbon Program. It is the first green bond designed specifically to support the generation of nature-based carbon credits. Morgan Stanley served as the sole underwriter on the transaction.

Developed by the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy, the Family Forest Carbon Program enables family forest owners, who own the largest portion of America's forestland, to address climate change, improve forest health and earn income from their land through carbon markets. The program uses a new, science-based forest carbon accounting methodology that isolates the program as the sole intervention responsible for additional carbon sequestered and stored, which is then sold as verified carbon credits.

We are at this incredible tipping point, said Rita Hite, president, and chief executive officer of the American Forest Foundation. Carbon markets are the fastest growing tool we have to incentivize climate-smart forest management in family-owned forests. Yet the biggest barrier for many landowners is the large amount of upfront capital typically required by carbon projects. With the assistance of Morgan Stanley on this unprecedented green bond issuance, we've figured out how to overcome these barriers and catalyze opportunities for hardworking American landowners to have an exponential impact on the health of our planet.