The Private Sector in the REDD+ Supply Chain: Trends, challenges and opportunities

This executive summary, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in August 2012, outlines the role of the private sector in the REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) supply chain. Based on research involving over 40 developing-country decision-makers, the document identifies motivations for private engagement, critical barriers such as land tenure, and policy recommendations to scale up private investment to mitigate climate change.

• Private sector engagement in the REDD+ supply chain is driven by various motivations, including corporate social responsibility, reputational returns, pre-compliance purposes, and potential monetary returns. To invest, the private sector requires a measurable net benefit, whether in the form of tradable carbon credits or reputational gains.
• Private sector actors can perform multiple roles within the REDD+ supply chain, including investment, project development and implementation, carbon credit retailing, technical expertise and capacity building, certification and validation, and carbon credit purchasing.
• A critical barrier to private sector investment is the lack of clear land tenure and carbon ownership systems. Investors require these clarifications, alongside consultation with communities and the establishment of benefit-sharing mechanisms, before committing to REDD+ activities.
• Current demand and price levels in the voluntary carbon market are insufficient to drive large-scale private investment. The document argues that compliance-driven demand from developed countries and the use of nested crediting approaches—which allow direct performance-based payments while maintaining national accounting integrity—are necessary to make forest protection financially competitive with land-use options that cause deforestation.
• To enhance participation, governments and the UNFCCC must provide policy certainty, integrate REDD+ into sectoral planning, and engage industries that drive deforestation, such as extractive industries and export-oriented agribusinesses, in policy and regulatory processes.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2012). The Private Sector in the REDD+ Supply Chain: Trends, challenges and opportunities. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/redd_private_sector.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. The Private Sector in the REDD+ Supply Chain: Trends, challenges and opportunities. 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/redd_private_sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=The Private Sector in the REDD+ Supply Chain: Trends, challenges and opportunities |date=August 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/redd_private_sector.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2012private, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{The Private Sector in the REDD+ Supply Chain: Trends, challenges and opportunities}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/redd_private_sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }