Signature Empress Farms

Institutional Projects

Leveraging the power of nature for economic and environmental returns

Institutional investors

The opportunity

World Tree is developing large-scale regenerative farm projects in the Southern U.S. for the purposes of hardwood production and carbon sequestration. These Signature Empress Farms, are being developed in collaboration with landowners and institutional investors.

  • 2000+ acre carbon forestry projects in Southern U.S.
  • Eco-timber production, with returns in 10 years
  • Generate significant volumes of nature-based offsets
  • 3 harvests per project
  • Climate smart, regenerative design

Contact us for a brochure of our current investment opportunities.

Planting for prosperity

Climate Smart Investing

World Tree’s Signature Empress Farms are designed to layer multiple investment opportunities into a single project. The three key activities are:

Land development: Transformation of underutilized farmland into valuable and productive agroforestry systems

Carbon offsets: Production of nature-based carbon credits to sell into a  rapidly growing carbon offset market. 

Lumber production: Production of beautiful, versatile eco-timber to meet the demands of an $80 billion U.S. market

Each project is holistically designed using regenerative agriculture practices. This climate smart approach generates additional revenue opportunities from intercropping, bee keeping and silvopasture.

Decarbonize your portfolio

Do you have a goal to decarbonize your portfolio? Are you a company looking to achieve net zero? Are you considering spending significant money on offsets – with no financial upside?

World Tree works with organizations to create realistic pathways to meet ambitious carbon targets. By investing in a tangible asset (trees) World Tree takes what is normally an expense and turns it into an investment. This means that organizations can both offset their carbon footprint and potentially make money on the sale of the lumber. 

Nature based carbon removal is one of the most powerful and effective methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Empress tree utilizes an extremely efficient mode of photosynthesis to fuel its rapid growth. One acre of trees can absorb 30 tons of carbon per year.

  • Realize ambitious carbon targets by 2030 and beyond
  • Create financial returns in the process of decarbonizing
  • Generate multiple impact and social benefits (soil, land, jobs and biodiversity)
  • Measure and validate projects and impact

A 4,000 acre project can generate 2 million tons of carbon offsets over 30 years.

By 2030, the carbon credit market may be worth more than $50 billion.

- McKinsey & Company

Nature based offsets

Carbon Forestry

Global demand for carbon offsets is predicted to increase by a factor of 15 by 2030, and a factor of 100 by 2050 (Source). This increase in demand is driving an increase in prices, especially for offsets derived from nature-based, carbon removal projects. 

The market is failing to keep up with demand. Tree-based removal projects in particular are rare and highly sought after. The reason they are so difficult to source is that most trees grow too slowly to accumulate enough carbon to create viable projects. 

World Tree has been developing its carbon forestry model since 2018. Starting with a feasibility study with Ostrom Climate (formerly NatureBank) in 2018, World Tree has developed a business model that can leverage the Empress Splendor’s capacity for carbon drawdown to deliver significant impact within 3 years. 

Empress Splendor is one of the most efficient trees for sequestering carbon on the planet. One acre of Empress Splendor can sequester 15-30 metric tons of carbon per acre per year over a 10 year growing cycle.

Capitalizing on a unique market opportunity

World Tree is positioned to capture a significant share of an $80 billion market by introducing a new, sustainable hardwood in the U.S. 

Global  lumber  demand  is  forecasted  to  more than double by 2050. Growing populations of middle to high income consumers are driving lumber consumption across all sectors. With species such as ash, western red cedar and redwood threatened with extinction, there is an urgent need for new sources of timber. World Tree’s Empress allows for the rapid production of farmed lumber to meet this demand.

Anticipated  growth  in  lumber  demand,  climate  change induced  shortages  and  growing  demand  for  sustainably  sourced  timber,  will  make  Empress   lumber,   sourced   from   sustainable   tree   farms,   well-positioned to acquire market share within the global lumber market.

Market Highlights​

  • Global demand for timber is anticipated to quadruple over the next 30 years (World Bank)​
  • Growing market shortages due to climate change are becoming worse with time
  • Versatile lumber with many applications​ across a range of industries that require performance characteristics such as lightweight and water and warping resistance
  • Long history of being a highly prized lumber in Asia, though the North American market is undeveloped, creating an opening for a first mover sustainable lumber supplier
  • Sustainably grown timber that appeals to green businesses and consumers
The regenerative philosophy

Project Development

World Tree is currently sourcing project opportunities in the South Eastern U.S. to begin in 2022/2023. Each project is approximately 2000-4000 acres in size.

Empress are not ‘plant and walk away’ trees. They require extensive and highly specialized management.  Empress cultivation is a science that World Tree has refined through extensive experience.

World Tree has an in-house management team dedicated to overseeing all farm operations, with certain functions sub-contracted to local managers and farmers.

World Tree’s Signature Empress Farms are managed using the principles and philosophy of regenerative agriculture. With a focus on soil health, non-chemical control of weeds and pests and the use of soil-smart land management World Tree is working with UnderstandingAg to create a strong healthy environment for the trees and any companion animals or crops that are grown with them.

Partnerships for Impact

World Tree is seeking partners who share our ambition and commitment to creating large scale, impactful projects. Please contact us to receive information on our latest opportunities for investors, corporations and landowners.