Diversity & equal opportunity

We put equality on our agenda: all employees have the right to come up with new ideas. Gender equality is part of our corporate philosophy; more than 60 per cent of our employees are women, many of whom are holding leading positions. The majority of our approximately 100 employees in Panama are part of the local indigenous population (Ngöbe-Buglé). This provides a unique basis for the exchange of ideas and exceptional work in our project locations, which also pays off for our customers.

Training & further education

ForestFinance systematically supports its employees with further education and training, ranging from reading and writing to computer courses. All forest workers are trained in the ecologically sustainable management of mixed forests and innovative technologies and monitoring systems. This ensures the permanent transfer of knowledge between the forestry departments abroad and in Germany, which is essential for sustainable regional and local development. For instance, ForestFinance has introduced a training programme for sustainable forest management in Vietnam. We also believe that rainforest protection is only truly effective when the local population is involved, thus we actively support environmental education at Panamanian schools and have built a public educational nature trail in Las Lajas, Panama.

Fair & safe working environment

Happy employees equal happy customers. ForestFinance is proud to secure hundreds of jobs for locals in rural regions, and the wages and working conditions of the Panamanian employees are above local standards. We pay fair wages exceeding the minimum standards in the project countries. Furthermore, all ForestFinance employees receive an additional life insurance policy for the security of their families. If an employee is in an emergency situation, ForestFinance offers interest-free private credit agreements. Our corporate philosophy reflects the base principles of the International Labour Organization (www.ilo.org). By aligning our values with these internationally recognised organisations we are actively fighting against child labour at all of our project locations. Of course, ForestFinance also provides all safety equipment, which is often not customary in these regions. Many of our employees have gained immediate responsibilities with their job entry at ForestFinance. Due to flat hierarchies, transparent decision-making and strong participation, everyone is involved and has their own space for personal development.