Forest Stewardship Council U.S. Names Chestnut Carbon as the 2025 FSC President’s Award Winner

The FSC U.S. President’s Award is the highest honor of the broader Leadership Awards program.

ST. LOUIS, MO, UNITED STATES, September 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- FSC U.S. President Sarah Billig announced the second annual President’s Award at the organization’s 2025 Stewardship in Action Conference on Sept. 10 in St. Louis, Missouri. Chestnut Carbon, a leading developer of nature-based carbon removal projects, was selected as the winner.

The President’s Award gives top-level recognition to this outstanding organization at the forefront of sustainable afforestation and improved forest management. The FSC U.S. President’s Award is the highest honor of the broader Leadership Awards program, which recognizes excellence in the use of FSC-certified products, materials, and commitment to responsible forest management across industries, as well as in advocacy, conservation and individual leadership in the FSC community.

“It is an immense honor for Chestnut to be recognized by FSC U.S. on a national stage. This milestone reflects our unwavering commitment to restoring biodiverse landscapes and delivering climate solutions that are as enduring as they are impactful,” said Briana Capra, Vice President, Project Development at Chestnut. “We’re thankful for FSC’s support towards our goal of removing over 100 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by 2030. We will continue to conserve and restore forestland across the U.S. and to support long-term conservation of ecosystems in the process.”

“In honoring Chestnut Carbon with the President’s Award, FSC U.S. is recognizing true innovation and leadership in the emerging ecosystem services space”, said Sarah Billig, President, FSC U.S. “By achieving the first FSC-certified ecosystem services claim in the United States—centered on biodiversity and restoration—Chestnut Carbon is expanding the way forests are valued beyond timber. Their work exemplifies the spirit of the FSC Leadership Awards: proving that when we align innovation, stewardship, and collaboration, we can create impact that lasts for both forests and people.”

Chestnut builds long-term projects that offset carbon emissions by cultivating biodiverse forest ecosystems, improving air and water quality, and supporting local communities. Chestnut’s afforestation (ARR) project spans over 60,000 acres in 8 southeastern states, and their improved forest management (IFM) projects consist of over 180,000 acres of enrolled privately owned forests across the U.S. In February 2025, Chestnut’s ARR project became the first US project verified through FSC’s Verified Impact program for Biodiversity Conservation. This certification further strengthens Chestnut's project quality and reputation for delivering carbon removal credits of the highest integrity and climate impact.

About the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The Forest Stewardship Council, the world’s most trusted forest certification, is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous management of forests. FSC was created in 1993 to set the standards by which forests are certified, offering assurance to consumers and businesses that the wood products they buy originate from well-managed forests. More than 3,200 companies and over 36 million acres of forestland are FSC certified in the United States. For more information visit us.fsc.org.

About Chestnut Carbon

Chestnut Carbon is a leading developer of nature-based carbon removal credits. Chestnut generates high-quality, U.S.-based forest carbon offsets that are additional and verifiable to accelerate the path to net zero across a range of industries.

Chestnut uses a proprietary approach to developing forest carbon projects on family-owned forest land and marginal crop and pasture lands. Chestnut's expertise is driven by an experienced team, whose diverse backgrounds include forestry, carbon regulation, environment, finance and land management. Chestnut's long-term projects decrease carbon emissions by cultivating biodiverse forest ecosystems, improving air and water quality, and supporting local communities.

For more information, please visit chestnutcarbon.com.

Shawn Collier
Forest Stewardship Council - US
+1 713-582-9497
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