Endowment Receives $250,000 from USDA Forest Service to Study Wood Blockchain Development and Deployment through ForesTrust

Endowment Receives $250,000 from USDA Forest Service to Study Wood Blockchain Development and Deployment through ForesTrust

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (July 26, 2022)

Greenville, SC – The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) has been awarded a $250,000 grant through the 2022 USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant Program.

The award, matched by $250,000 from the Endowment, will fund a collaboration between the Endowment and Michigan State University Forest Carbon and Climate Program (MSU FCCP) to develop and deploy ForesTrust, a cost-effective blockchain network to accurately and efficiently track wood and wood fiber from forest to consumer. Simultaneously, MSU FCCP will investigate methodologies for accurately tracking stored carbon through the value chain, which will be incorporated into ForesTrust technology.

“We are thrilled to be in partnership with the Wood Innovations Grant Program on this project, which will employ blockchain technology to the benefit of the entire wood products industry,” said Teal Edelen, Program Officer at the Endowment. “The Endowment’s collaboration with Michigan State University will allow the wood products industry to accurately and securely track products through the supply chain, account for carbon stored, and demonstrate the chain of custody of wood and forest products through verifiable data.”

The Wood Innovations Grants Program, launched in 2015, stimulates and expands wood products and wood energy markets. National focus areas include mass timber, renewable wood energy, and technological development that supports fuel reduction and sustainable forest management.

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Media Contact
Brandon Walters, Communications and Administrative Coordinator. (864) 233-7646; brandon@usendowment.org

About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at www.usendowment.org.

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