Simplifying carbon for Finland’s leading forest manager

At a glance

As Finland's leading independent forest investment manager for institutional investors, Conifer oversees a vast portfolio of over 135,000 hectares. Their clients, including pension funds and insurers, trust them to manage these assets for stable, long-term growth. Conifer's advanced AARI+ forest management strategy sets ambitious goals for balancing four key values: financial returns, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and recreation. However, as a fiduciary, these climate-positive actions must be financially viable. Conifer sought a carbon project provider to turn the measurable climate benefits of these enhanced activities into a new revenue stream, allowing them to unlock the full potential of their sustainable strategy. They chose Ecobase for our ability to make the complex carbon market simple, providing a transparent and professional pathway to add both Afforestation (ARR) and Improved Forest Management (IFM) projects to the holdings they manage.

A strategy of balanced, long-term value

As Finland's leading independent forest investment manager, Conifer's approach is sophisticated and built for the long term. They manage over 135,000 hectares of forest holdings for their clients, valued at over €700 million.

Their forest management is sustainable, responsible, and carefully planned. It is based on both PEFC and FSC certifications and is always individually planned for each forest plot. Whenever possible, they follow the principles of continuous cover forestry to promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Their goal is to grow a diverse forest with clearly more natural seedling material and variation in tree species than a traditional commercial forest, making their clients' portfolios highly resistant to damage and climate change.

On top of this, Conifer implements its proprietary AARI+ Forest Concept by AARI Metsä. This strategy is incremental (additional) to standard certifications. In all felling and management activities, they permanently exclude one "AARI," a 10m x 10m (100 square meter) plot, per hectare. These AARI+ sites create vital cover for species like blueberry and grouse and provide deadwood for fungi and insects.

As a fiduciary for institutional clients, this presents a sophisticated challenge: how to push for these industry-leading sustainability actions while also delivering optimal financial returns from timber.

Finding simplicity in a complex market

The AARI+ model and other enhanced management practices, like favoring continuous cover forestry, come with a clear cost: a potential trade-off with short-term timber revenue. This is where carbon finance became the solution. By putting a measurable, financial value on the carbon sequestration these actions produce, carbon credits transform an environmental goal into a tangible asset. So, giving carbon a price allows Conifer to fully implement their forest management strategy without compromising their clients' financial returns.

We need solutions that work today and deliver concrete results for better forest management. Ecobase has quickly developed a strong understanding of the Finnish market, and their approach aligns well with Tapio’s forestry recommendations, while the baseline calculations are grounded in current realities. Most importantly, participation in the project is simple and easy for forest owners to implement.

Mikael Beck‍
CEO, Conifer

As a proactive manager looking to bring new opportunities to its clients, Conifer had already been researching the carbon market for several years and evaluating different schemes. Having done their due diligence, they knew exactly what to look for and what was valuable and important to have in a partner. The real challenge however was finding a credible partner, one could navigate the market's complexity, evolving methodologies, and reputational risk. They needed someone with proven expertise, who navigates the market well, stays current on the latest developments, and is straightforward in their communication and service.  

This is where Ecobase became the clear solution. Conifer, as forestry and asset management experts, immediately recognized the value in Ecobase's carbon projects and its calculation models. These models are founded in the Finnish way of doing forestry management and are backed by extensive, localized data from Finnish forests. This grounded, data-driven approach ensured that the projected outcomes were trustworthy and made sense in the local context rather than promising the moon. For an institutional manager like Conifer, this transparency and realism was critical. But the deciding factor was simplicity and ease. Ecobase provided a clear, professional, and straightforward model that handles the entire, complex journey—from project design, rigorous third-party audits, and legal contracts to credit sales and income generation. This end-to-end management, combined with down-to-earth expertise, made Ecobase the obvious choice to turn Conifer's complex environmental goals into tangible asset.

We urgently need compensation schemes that truly reward the forest owner for contributing to the climate. The current policy frameworks often create financial incentives for early final fellings rather than rewarding the postponement necessary for better ecological balance. Ecobase is the first company we found with a holistic and easy-to-implement approach where the forest owner can earn by contributing to climate work without the fear of future penalties or reputational risk.

Mikael Beck‍
CEO, Conifer

Delivering on both fronts

By working with Ecobase, Conifer can now seamlessly integrate Verra-certified carbon income into their forest management. This reinforces their position as Finland's most forward-thinking institutional forest manager, offering their institutional clients a truly balanced portfolio where financial returns and measurable climate impact go hand-in-hand.

Partner with Ecobase  

If you are interested in unlocking the full environmental and economic potential of your land and forests through carbon finance, Ecobase is here to guide you through the complexities. With deep experience in both forestry and carbon markets, we take a transparent, partnership-based approach with landowners. We handle the carbon project side, so you can focus on managing your land for long-term sustainable environmental and economic value.  

👉 Join our carbon project today