The environmental organisation, Canopy has received $60 million in funding this week to transform clothing, paper, and packaging supply chains and exact a plan to save the world’s most ancient and endangered forests.

The backing comes from The Audacious Project, a collaborative funding initiative to drive social impact on a grand scale. Each year, the project selects a group of bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.

This year, Canopy has been named one of its selectees for the critical work it is carrying out to advance vital forest-free supply chains.

Canopy, a solutions-driven non-profit that has partnered with over 900 global brands including H&M, Zara, Penguin Random House, and Stella McCartney, will use the funds to accelerate the commercial-scale production of low-impact and circular clothing, paper, and packaging solutions that don’t rely on pulp from ancient and endangered forests.

These Next Gen Solutions are derived from what is usually landfilled (such as waste textiles and food scraps), or burned (agricultural residues), to create new fabrics, paper, pulp, and packaging. Such Next Gen alternatives have on average 95% to 130% less greenhouse gas emissions, 88% to 100% less land use impacts, and five times lower impact on biodiversity.

“The audacious work being done by Canopy is not only transforming carbon intensive supply chains at a critical juncture for our planet, but with a network of engaged and willing partners, some truly exciting and innovative solutions can now be delivered at scale,” said Anna Verghese, executive director at The Audacious Project.

“We’re excited about the change they will catalyse over the coming years with this surge in support.”

By 2033, Canopy’s work will:

• Unlock over 60,000 tonnes of low-carbon Next Gen fibre production.
• Avoid 1.3 billion tonnes of emissions (almost twice the emissions of Germany).
• Divert nearly 800 million tonnes of agricultural residue and waste textiles from being burned or landfilled.
• Completely eliminate the use of ancient and endangered forests in the paper, packaging, and fashion viscose supply chains.

“We are very proud to be included in this year’s group of Audacious grantees and believe Canopy’s creative, collaborative, and transformative work will be key in driving supply chain change at scale and, in turn, provide a reprieve to critical forests that are under current and future threats, within the next decade and beyond,” said Canopy’s executive founder and executive director, Nicole Rycroft.

Conserving and restoring forests has been identified as a major part of the solution to the growing climate crisis. Forests are a massive carbon sink, absorbing a net 7.6 billion metric tonnes of CO2 a year – 1.5 times more carbon than the United States emits annually.

Despite this, over five billion trees are cut down yearly for paper, packaging, and fashion fabrics alone, many from the world’s oldest, most carbon and biodiversity-rich forests.

Leyla Ertur, head of sustainability at H&M Group, said: “We are very glad to see Canopy’s leadership and commitment to find scalable solutions for the industry being recognised. Moving towards more sustainable alternatives for our materials and packaging plays a crucial role in our journey towards circularity.

“Innovative low-carbon solutions, such as regenerated cellulosic fibres from waste textiles or agricultural residues, are showing the potential to reduce our impact on climate and protect forests, so no ancient and endangered forests are put at risk to make fashion.

“Together with Canopy and other industry leaders, we want to use our size and scale to continue driving demand for low-carbon material solutions while building scalability faster.”