Expert Advice in 5 Minutes or Less: Chandler Van Voorhis, Co-founder and Managing Partner, GreenTrees

In this episode, inspired by Chandler Van Voorhis of GreenTrees, we explore revolutionizing capitalism and restoring the Earth. GreenTrees' Code of Ethics emphasizes continuous innovation and transparency, principles applicable to personal and professional decision-making. Chandler introduces Capitalism 2.0, integrating nature's services into the system, urging a shift in ownership, fractionalizing services, and embracing digital innovation for transformative change. We tackle the climate crisis, discussing the importance of transparent carbon credit programs. As we conclude, I challenge you to take steps towards revaluing the Earth in your life and business. 

Chandler Van Voorhis is the co-founder and managing partner at GreenTrees, a global leader in reforestation to answer climate change and the largest reforestation program operator in the U.S. At GreenTrees, he drives the organization’s efforts to address climate change through reforestation. Under Chandler’s leadership, GreenTrees has engaged more than 600 landowners ranging from 10 to 3,500+ acres, planting 130,000+ acres of trees that have generated carbon offset credits equivalent to removing more than six million metric tons of carbon from the Earth’s atmosphere.

With nearly three decades of industry experience, Chandler is a leading expert in conservation and ecological markets. In 2002, he was awarded the ChevronTexaco Conservation Award, the nation’s most distinguished private conservation award. He has made appearances as a guest lecturer at Princeton and Yale, hosted a TEDx Talk, and has authored several publications on the emergence of natural capital. Before GreenTrees, Chandler was the co-host of GreenWave Radio, a nationally ranked syndicated radio talk show on business and the environment.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Expert Advice, in 5 Minutes or Less, a feature of E&E Leader's podcast, sustainability Unveiled. You are busy, we get it. Sometimes you don't have time or the bandwidth to listen to an entire episode, so this is where we are bringing you, the viewers a short segment of practical advice from sustainability experts that you can apply to your everyday personal and professional life. I'm your host, jessica Hunt, and today we have a thought-provoking topic on our hands revolutionizing capitalism and restoring Earth. Inspired by insights from Chandler Van Voorhees, co-founder and managing partner of Green Trees, we're diving deep into actionable steps and transformative ideas.

Speaker 1: 0:52

Green Trees operates on a foundation of principles outlined in its Code of Ethics. The mindset of questioning everything and challenging the status quo is something we can all embrace. So how can we apply these principles to our own lives and businesses? Consider incorporating continuous innovation, transparency, traceability into your decision-making processes. Chandler emphasizes a concept he refers to as capitalism 2.0, where the services that nature affords us are internalized into the capitalistic system, giving conservation a purpose and capitalism a heart. The changes that will lead to this will come in three areas reimagining ownership of land and services, fractionalizing those services and building digital twins, and automatic underwriting of assets worldwide.

Speaker 1: 1:42

Think differently by thinking about scale. Chandler quotes the late Jim Rogers, former chairman and CEO of Duke Energy. As he once told him, there are two forms of IP in this world technological IP and how you get to scale. Most technologies fail on scale. Scaling requires people and organizations to think differently, to relish in challenging the proverbial sacred cow, enlarging the orbit of capitalism. Why is this important? Chandler tells us? Putting a price and value on natural capital is crucial, using price as a tool as it creates choices and priorities. It determines what goods are botched or not bought, influencing resource flow. Price is also a mediator of cooperation, reflecting perceived value and fostering trust, and it engineers broad social collaboration and forces change as resources become scarce. So how can we think of nature as a scalable technology? He tells us? Nature serves as a scalable technology for repairing the past and recalibrating the atmosphere, encouraging a mindset of breaking the status quo, urging companies to challenge everything, especially as they expand, scale and grow.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Addressing the climate crisis. We are a tipping point in the global fight against the climate crisis. Chandler states Corporations are investing in restoring forests through voluntary carbon credit markets. If this is something your company is pursuing, there are key, fundamental questions that you need to ask when operating a carbon credit program for transparency. The type and standards of carbon credits offered. Methodology for generating and acquiring carbon credits and calculating offset. Independent verification, certification of carbon credits and provider details, projects or activities supported by carbon credits and expected impact on emissions. Information and selling carbon credits with references or case studies. And yes, this does seem like a lot of information, but it is all crucial. Transparency about the process and information provided to help buyers decide and the cost of carbon credits and the purchasing process. Thank you for joining me and don't forget to follow Chandler, as well as GreenTrees, on LinkedIn Time for more engaging conversations and quick insights from industry experts on expert advice. In five minutes or less, I'm Jessica Hunt signing off until our next episode.