Portland, OR – March 23, 2026 – EFM, a forestland investment and management firm, is excited to announce that it has been honored alongside investment partners Climate Asset Management and Stafford Capital Partners for the acquisition of the Olympic Rainforest, a 68,000-acre commercial forestland property on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The acquisition was recognized in the following categories:
• Deal of the Year – Global
• Timberland Deal of the Year – Global
• Deal of the Year – Americas
• Timberland Deal of the Year – Americas
The acquisition of this property is a leading example of how natural capital strategies can integrate improved forest management with diversified revenue streams across timber, carbon, and conservation markets at scale. The project aims to increase timber inventories over a 15-year period, enhance biodiversity, and strengthen carbon sequestration through improved forest health.
As part of the strategy, EFM secured long-term carbon offtake agreements with Meta and Microsoft before acquisition, providing price visibility and demand certainty for a portion of future carbon revenues. Carbon financing enables the reduction of harvest intensity while the forest transitions to a higher-value, better-stocked timberland asset over time. EFM negotiated the transaction, structured the carbon offtakes, and serves the investor consortium as the ongoing manager of the Olympic Rainforest property.
The project also incorporates expanded community partnerships, including collaboration with tribes, conservation organizations, and local stakeholders, and supports public access for recreation, restoration activities, and rural employment programs. Learn more about the Olympic Rainforest deal here.
Bettina von Hagen, CEO and Board Chair at EFM, commented on the project’s significance:
“Natural capital investing works when ecological outcomes and financial performance reinforce one another. Our experience shows that when forests are managed for long-term health—stronger carbon stocks, cleaner water, healthier habitat—they also become more valuable, more productive and more resilient. The Olympic Rainforest demonstrates what is possible when investors commit to strategies grounded in both rigorous management and deep respect for place.”
Reflecting on the structure of the Olympic Rainforest project and the role of carbon markets in supporting long-term investment, Stephen Addicott, Co-Managing Partner at Stafford Capital Partners, added,
“The long-term offtake agreements underwritten in the Olympic Rainforest Project help to significantly mitigate the risks around carbon cashflows. It is an investment that we believe will provide upside through diversified and stable revenue streams.”
James Bullen, CAM’s Head of Asset Management, highlighted the broader shift underway in institutional investment approaches to natural capital
“We are seeing natural capital move from the margins of portfolios into mainstream real-assets discussions. Institutional investors increasingly recognise that nature underpins economic value across food systems, timber supply, water security and climate resilience. Managing natural capital well is therefore not just about impact; it is a way to mitigate long-term risk and unlock durable, real-asset returns.”[AV1.1]
Olympic Rainforest serves as a case study of how nature-based strategies can align improved forest management with diversified revenue sources. The project’s design reflects trends identified across institutional markets, where investors increasingly recognize biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and land degradation as material financial risks for long-term portfolios.
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About EFM
EFM is an investment and management firm that acquires forests and implements climate-smart strategies in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. EFM creates value by combining timber production with revenues from carbon sequestration, conservation, recreation and biodiversity. EFM’s investment management business focuses on FSC-certified forests in the US, and its advisory business focuses on cutting-edge natural climate solutions opportunities globally. The firm has two decades of experience and manages more than 200,000 forestland acres and is expanding to markets where increased funding for climate benefits and ecosystem services can create a competitive advantage and deliver value to investors, local communities and the public.
Learn more at www.efmi.com.
Media Contact:
Colette Smith, EFM Investor Relations Associate: csmith@efmi.com, (503) 467-0805
About Climate Asset Management
Climate Asset Management, a partnership between HSBC Asset Management and Pollination, delivers investment solutions that address climate change and biodiversity loss by mobilizing capital into natural capital and nature-based solutions. Through its Natural Capital and Nature-Based Carbon Strategies, the firm seeks to generate returns while also delivering measurable environmental and social impact. Climate Asset Management Limited is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 944222).
About Stafford
Stafford is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with USD 8.9 billion (as at 31 December 2025) in assets under management and advice for more than 150 institutional clients worldwide. Founded in 2000, Stafford has a global team of 90+ professionals investing in infrastructure, timberland & agriculture, and sustainable private equity through secondaries, primaries, and co-investments. Stafford is a UN PRI signatory and is committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) Initiative. It implements an RI Policy across all strategies. In the UK, Stafford is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 225586).