Rimba Collective

Rimba Collective is an initiative led by buyers and processors of palm oil to collectively support long-term, sustainable conservation, and restoration of forests. It aims to provide US$1 billion to protect or restore 500,000 hectares of forest, supporting 32,000 individuals in forest communities in Southeast Asia over 30 years, starting in Indonesia.

Rimba Collective aligns with the work of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive Coalition of Action, and the post-2020 commitments of an ever-growing number of supply chain companies.

Funding from partners is channeled to a portfolio of conservation projects, with investments overseen by the Rimba Collective management entity. Participant contributions are correlated directly with procurement volumes. This embeds the cost of forest protection and restoration into the cost of procurement to ensure equitable funding by Rimba Collective’s partners in a way that is secure, self-sustaining, and scalable over time.

The Rimba Collective financial model has two key features:

Costs are linked to procurement volumes, integrating Rimba Collective costs into operations procurement decisions.
Contributions and contractual obligations flow directly from participants to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), managing funds on their behalf.

Rimba Collective was launched on April 8th, 2021. See the video recording of Rimba Collective’s launch below:

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The Path to Scale

The true potential for Lestari Capital rests in our ability to scale along with the emerging climate economy.

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We believe that sustainable market systems should include mechanisms to protect and restore the landscapes impacted by global supply chains. Within this context, we believe the core problem is not the lack of corporate sustainability commitments, but in executing upon those commitments effectively. Our company delivers value by adding transparency and verifiable, efficient conservation action to existing sustainability standards. We aim to take this approach to other sectors and regions, supporting those who advocate for conservation to be directly integrated into the operations footprint of each company, while providing an efficient mechanism for the private sector to act credibly on various commitments (with “No Deforestation” pledges, for example).

Ultimately, our greatest potential for impact is through growing our project portfolio by building our relationships with partners that have the capacity to launch or scale-up conservation and restoration initiatives. For conservation actors, we deliver key market infrastructure to support a growing and diverse community of projects. The SCCM can help existing projects scale by expanding their area of operations, or by adding in new activities. The SCCM can also help position projects to tap into outside investment by offering a long-term guarantee of operational finance, which also can help secure additional sources of demand for ecosystem services.

"Nature positive’ is about not only stopping declines in biodiversity but also reversing them, which is the only way to keep 1.5° alive. Our nature positive approach means acting to protect and restore forests – and to strengthen the rights of forest-frontier communities across the sourcing landscape."

Mike Zrust, Founder, Lestari Capital