re.green plans to profit from tropical forest restoration
For Brazilian startup re.green, it is possible to combine the restoration of degraded areas in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest with financial returns. The company aims to restore 1 million hectares of tropical forest and sequester 15 million tons of carbon annually. It also aims to generate economic and social impact — as well as profit.
State of play. Founded by economist Bernardo Strassburg, a professor and researcher at PUC-Rio, re.green successfully raised BRL 389 million (USD 78.2 million) from private equity funds.
- It was initially financed with seed capital from the Good Energies Foundation and the impact fund Positive Ventures. Later, it attracted João Moreira Salles (heir to Banco Itau) and investment funds Gávea Investimentos (led by Armínio Fraga, former president of the Central Bank), Principia/Lanx, and Dynamo.
- re.green is currently working on five areas totaling 11,000 hectares that can be restored, with approximately 1,000 hectares already planted.
Why it matters. The conservation and restoration of tropical forests, especially the Amazon, are central to Brazil’s contribution to the global effort to combat climate change. In an interview with CNN Brazil, Luciana Gatti, a researcher at the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), said that the forest “is our protection against climate change,” and that deforestation is the “accelerator.”
How it works. The company buys land degraded by cattle ranching in states such as Bahia, Maranhão, and Pará and promotes “ecological...
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