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When the property market started to crumble

entrepreneurs Andrew Skeene and Omari Bowers
realised it was time to branch out. They’re now
the founders of Global Forestry Investments, a
company that expects to turn over
US$10m this year

Little did London lads Andrew and Omari know

in 2007 that an insightful business plan would not
only net them millions, but also transform their lives,
metamorphosing them into conscientious eco-warriors
– offering the opportunity for individuals and companies
to purchase carbon credits to help offset emissions – and
sympathetic philanthropists, changing the lives of inhabitants
in underprivileged parts of Brazil.

Seeing the
forest for
the trees

“By teaching basic skills,
hopefully we can help create jobs and give something back”
How did you “stumble upon” forestry investments? We
already had experience of buying land without planning
permission in both the UK and abroad. We had a particular
interest in the emerging markets and an opportunity
presented itself to purchase a plot of land with planning
permission in South America. It just so happened that there
was a timber farm based on the plot. We discovered that
a lot of hedge funds in the UK and the US were buying
agricultural land in South America and Africa, but the
hedge funds were only offering this to other hedge funds
and large investors. There was a gap in the market for
the small retail individual that wanted to get involved in
an alternative, sustainable, reliable investment. We also
discovered that forestry investments had grown 20 per
cent per annum in the past few decades, overtaking the
growing rate of the property market in 2007. We bought a
small plot of land in Mato Grosso in Brazil, sold it on and
made a small profit. Since then Global Forestry Invest-
ments have gone from strength to strength.
Have you always been environmentally aware? In our
previous business we realised eco homes were going to
be the houses of the future and began to look into fitting
our properties with solar panels, but we moved out of
the property market before we could implement this. ¶
When we originally came up with the plan for Global
Forestry Investments we have to be honest and say our
main objective was to turn a profit. We appreciated the
environmental aspects of the business were important but
we didn’t truly realise how much until we paid our first
visit to Brazil. Meeting the local people and villagers,
we knew we could make a real difference by establishing
sustainable projects.
Do you frequent conferences such as the Global Reporting
Initiative? Yes, they have an important role to play in
raising awareness of key environmental issues. It’s essential
for individuals and companies to know that solutions
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are out there to help offset carbon emissions. ¶ We are
aiming to play our part by launching an internet channel
called The Green Stream where we will be interviewing
professionals and experts from green industries. We want
to make it apparent to people around the world that we
need to make a difference now.
Did you have a business plan in place for Global Forestry
Investments or did you make some of it up along the way?
We took six months out to do our due diligence and research
the timber markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China. ¶ We
wanted to ensure we were fully prepared before moving into a
foreign market and it was important to make that move with
a business structure in place. ¶ However, once in Brazil, our
structure did change. We were inspired by the local people
and realised we could reach out to the local communities.
There was a distinct lack of education in certain villages,
the water supply was generally poor and even daily essentials
were hard to come by. This inspired us to set the wheels in
motion to build a school to teach the locals how to farm. By
teaching basic skills, hopefully we can help create jobs and
give something back. We met with other entrepreneurs that
had established a school and we want to follow this model.
Our first step is to create a village for our management
team and workers, followed by a school and finally we hope
to establish a performing arts school and sports centre. It’s
hugely important that we invest part of our profits back into
the country in order to continue our own development and
the development of the local people.
What percentage of your earnings are you giving back?
Firstly, we will plant a new tree or purchase an existing tree
in a protected area for every tree an investor purchases.
Our new trees are planted in the heart of the Amazon that
will remain completely preserved – effectively helping to
reforest the depleted Brazilian rainforest. ¶ Secondly, 10
per cent of our profits are being given back to the local
Brazilian communities.
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Are you in a position where you’re able to advise existing
companies on how to develop their CSR? Yes, we under-
stand that CSR is very important in this type of industry.
We are always happy to receive calls and invite any heads
of CSR out to Brazil to visit our nurseries and plantations
to see our work at a grass roots level.
Kumi Naidoo, the head of Greenpeace International
says we have 65 months left to reduce carbon emissions
before climate change starts to become irreversible. Do
you believe Global Forestry Investments has bought
a few extra months? We have a plan to own over one
million trees by 2012. At present we are on target to have
sold all our land in Para by July this year. From there we
have an option to buy a large percentage of forestry land
ready for development. Over the next 10 years we hope
to plant more than one billion trees. Nothing is going to
happen overnight but if we can act now hopefully we can
work our way towards saving the rainforest by planting
one tree at a time.
How do you think governments should enforce environ-
mental changes within companies? By creating new energy
you can create more investment, technology improve-
ments and, subsequently, new businesses and jobs. We
have a moral obligation to the next generation so they
can inherit a planet that’s sustainable and reliable. ¶ One
way to achieve results would be to implement some form
of tax. Governments should bring in a carbon tax, where
they monitor how much individuals and businesses use,
with a percentage then paid towards offsetting emissions.
We believe there has to be more legislation and more
rules in place.
Can you tell us more about your investment scheme?
It is basically a 25-year investment where individuals can
purchase a lease for teak trees. We are partnered with a
UK trust which is regulated by the FSA. In terms of the
investment itself, outside of gold and oil, teak has been one
of the most steadily rising commodities over the past 200
years. Historically, real estate, gold, stocks, and mutual
funds have shown considerable volatility. Comparatively,
Teakwood, has demonstrated much less fluctuation with
consistent and sustained increases in value over long
periods of time. The benefits to the investor are that
you will yield a return of 10 to 20 per cent per annum
and you are investing in a commodity that is giving
back to the earth. For every tree an investor purchases,
we will plant another that will be completely protected.
When you invest in timber, you’re investing in the lungs
of the planet.
Has the media been supportive? We have a great
relationship with the press, although because green
sustainable businesses are still young, there is a lot more
that can be done to ensure people fully understand
the extent of deforestation. ¶ More and more we are
seeing media outlets get behind campaigns such as Sky’s
“Rainforest Rescue,” and celebrities such as Lily Allen
and Ross Kemp visiting the Amazon to raise the profile
of deforestation issues.
What water saver devices do you have in place? All our
irrigation is done with 100 per cent natural rainfall. We
know plantations are no true substitute for natural virgin
forest, but we strive to operate the land as if it is a natural
forest setting as not to impact the local ecosystems – this is
one reason we have chosen to operate in an area of Brazil
that has high rainfall averages.
You have offices in London, Dubai and Sao Paulo
– where do you spend most of your time? In all three
countries. We live in the UK but spend a lot of our time
in the heart of everything in Brazil. Our management
team takes care of the day-to-day operations but we fly out
to Sao Paulo every five to six weeks. ¶ Dubai has a large
carbon footprint due to the volume of construction work.
Many of our clients in the UAE are businesses looking to
offset their emissions and it’s certainly something that’s
becoming more recognised as a high priority.
What happens when you run out of land to buy? We
currently own land in Pará in the northern region of
Brazil. Pará itself is almost twice the size of France, so
there’s a lot of land! We have an option to purchase a
further 100,000 hectares next to the land we currently
own. That would allow us to plant up to 100,000,000 new
trees in the region for sustainable forestry purposes and
a further 100,000,000 trees to help reforest the Amazon.
There’s more than enough land that needs sustainability.
The more we continue to expand the more we will be able
to give back, helping to create a better, greener planet
for everyone.

www.globalforestryinvestments.com

Andrew Skeene Omari Bowers

interview: Lyndsey Steven Photos: SUPPLIED

After failing to make the grade as a professional footballer with uk team Crystal
Palace as a youngster, I found my feet in business. At 16 I began selling vacuum cleaners
as a door-to-door salesman. From there I moved into the retail sector, which was
followed by a successful venture into the property market establishing a company
called Positive Finance. I sold my assets before the recession struck and moved to
establish Global Forestry Investments in 2007 with my business partner Omari Bowers.
I started out working with JP Morgan as trade floor support. I BEGAN to purchase
properties, renovate them and sell them on for a profit. Initially I was just helping
friends and family but decided to quit my job and work in property full time. I started
my own company called the Impetro Group and was running my own lettings and
management office by the time I was 28. It was at this point I met Andrew who was
running a similar business and we started working on projects together.