A claim about a forest, a farm, or a watershed is only as credible as the system behind it—how standards are governed, how outcomes are verified, and how performance is managed when expectations are not met. Heartwood helps build and strengthen those systems.
We design standards, projects, and integrity frameworks across ecosystem-service markets (including Verra/VCS, ART-TREES, and ICVCM), sustainable agriculture and forestry (including FSC, Textile Exchange, Rainforest Alliance, and Fairtrade), with conservation and community outcomes integrated throughout.
• Standards and methodology design, quality frameworks and tools
• Verification protocols and tools for efficiency, consistency and transparency
• Co-benefits and stacked certification
• Due diligence frameworks for buyers, investors, and project developers
• Conservation and land use program design, from prioritization through funder reporting
• Benefit-sharing, community ownership, and FPIC
• Multi-stakeholder engagement and participatory facilitation
Recent work: An assessment of forest management and carbon standards for the Environmental Defense Fund, using a customized framework and tools to collate leading practices across the major registries.
A customer sends a questionnaire. A buyer requires certification. A commitment made three years ago is suddenly due, and no one is quite sure what it requires. Or a reporting requirement you hadn't budgeted for—CDP, EUDR, or CSDDD—turns out to apply.
Heartwood helps you determine what matters—and what doesn't. Decades of experience designing standards, measuring outcomes, and helping organizations adapt to changing expectations have taught us which requirements truly affect risk, credibility, and market access, and which are mostly noise. Whether you're conducting your first materiality assessment or developing a sourcing program that spans thousands of suppliers, we help you focus on the work that will make the biggest difference.
• Materiality assessment, goal-setting, and certification readiness
• Program strategy and design
• Supply chain disclosure — what applies, and what it takes
• Supply chain due diligence and verification tools
• Multi-stakeholder engagement and capacity building
• Sustainability reporting and disclosure, scoped to your size and audience
• Responding to customer, buyer, and investor requirements
Recent work: The IDH Salary Matrix, a wage assessment platform used by hundreds of businesses across global supply chains to improve worker compensation.