2021 has been a whirlwind for many of us – while trying to move forward and cope with the ongoing pandemic, Brainforest's mission of more forests for a better climate, remains strong. Our goals and ambitions kept us grounded and motivated us during a rather tumultuous year for the collective. As we approach the year's end, we see just how much there is for us to celebrate and share with our readers.

Thank you for your continued support, from all of us at Brainforest.

After almost two years of never meeting face to face, our team of experts from all over Europe came together for our first retreat in the Grison Mountain village S-Charl! Our gathering was the perfect moment to celebrate the latest successes of the entities we founded: Ecosystem Value Association e.V. having held their first conference of the Wald-Klimarat, a multi-stakeholder-forum, and our Global Digital Marketplace, Xilva.

Brainforest is happy to announce Matthias Frisch as our newest board member. He brings with him a background in investment banking (e.g. UBS), as well as experience investing in various funds, including The Founders’ Kitchen. He also serves as a board member for the multi-asset fund Flossbach & Storch. We couldn't be happier to expand our growing ecosystem with such a talented individual. Stay tuned, as two more board members will be joining our team in January of next year.

Want to learn more about Brainforest and our mission? At one of our events we asked guests what they thought about Brainforest's mission. Watch the video to see what they had to say.

We are pleased to announce that Brainforest's first venture, Xilva, is now incorporated! Xilva acts as a global digital marketplace for forests – it's a one-stop hub that makes investing in forest projects with benefits like carbon sequestration, biodiversity, clean water and better livelihoods for local communities easier and more cost effective than ever before. The Xilva Global Forest Marketplace provides transparent, easy and innovative solutions to capital providers meaning there is more incentive for forest-postive projects.

Co-founders Jamie Micah Lawrence and Tim Dührkoop will be joined by Lorenzo Garofano in December and Marike Carstens in January, who will bring vision and optimization to the team! Jamie has been serving as Senior Advisor to a portfolio of organisations delivering strategies with a particular focus on forest landscape restoration and leveraging collaborative advantage, while Tim has 25 years of experience successfully building digital business under his belt. With such a strong team, we are confident they will achieve incredible things.

Want to learn more about what Xilva is up to?
Check out their website: xilva.global

Our second organisation, the Ecosystem Value Association e.V., has just launched. The company is focused on developing a new Wald-Klimastandard (forest carbon standard). The goal is to promote ecosystem services by measuring them and attributing a credit rating through the creation of the Wald-Klimastandard.

To develop this standard in the best interest of all stakeholders, the Ecosystem Value Association e.V. established the Wald-Klimarat (forest climate council), a multi-stakeholder-forum that acts as a sounding board to develop the standard through expertise and knowledge. The first conference of the Wald-Klimarat was held in September, with the second conference taking place as early as this month.

In October 2021 Fabien Hiltebrand was appointed as Standards Manager, with Anne Dörte Schmidt joining in November 2021 as Head of Communications.

The Wald-Klimarat is composed of 6-8 people from each stakeholder group and acts as a sounding board and advisory committee that actively participates in shaping the standard. The Wald-Klimarat is moderated and coordinated by the Ecosystem Value Association e.V.

With an NGO heart and entrepreneur mind, Brainforest has set out to unleash the climate potential of forests at large scale by unlocking the value of carbon and other co-benefits. Our ambitions require proper funding, which means our funders and partners are what make Brainforest -- The Venture Studio for Forests & Climate-- possible.  As a result, we would like to highlight our chairman Christian Wenger, who has helped shape the Brainforest model. 

For over 30 years Christian Wenger has made a name for himself in the Swiss venture capital market, and in 2019 was named "Business Angel of the Year" by Seca, the Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association. Christian has initiated numerous projects that have created a lasting impact on Switzerland's ecosystem and tech market. Watch the video to see what he has to say about Brainforest.

Curious to learn more about our partners and funders? Take a look at our new website: https://brainforest.global/

* Please note that interviews for the above functions are already in progress. Positions subject to availability.