Future Forest Forum 2024

Future Forest Forum

The annual highlight for forest and climate innovators

A rethought forest economy is created by combining a wide variety of perspectives and ideas. The Future Forest Forum is characterised by an inspiring mix of participants - from the forestry industry and the start-up scene to science, entrepreneurship and potential investors. We bring these groups together to exchange ideas, use keynote speeches to point the way to a new forest economy and enable participants to experience innovation in practice.

400+ participants

The solution lies in diversity - our forum offers a platform for a broad audience from politics, entrepreneurship, science, forestry and business.

30+ speakers

Our speakers represent a wide range of different specialist areas - from Smart Forestry to Ecosystem Services and Climate Solutions.

10+ side events

Besides panels and keynotes, many other interactive programme formats await you, such as exciting excursions, our Startup Award and an innovation fair.

Startups with impact

We provide a platform for pioneering business models - pitched by our start-ups from Batch#3 or in action on our innovation hike.

Pioneering forest innovation

From more climate-resilient silvicultural approaches such as the water retention forest to promising management tools such as the "digital twin of the forest".

Promising environmental markets

We show how green investments, biodiversity and CO2 markets can sustainably transform the (forest) economy.

Dörte Roloff

Startup Advisory Board Lower Saxony, Moderation
Janna Ensthaler

Founder of Green Generation Funds & investor at "Die Höhle der Löwen" (German "Shark Tank")
Hannah Schragmann

Biodiversity expert & philosopher
Elmar Stertenbrink

Entrepreneur, forest expert & inventor "Kölner Verfahren"; ecological forest management

The NatureLink Pavilion offers companies and CSR managers the opportunity to invest in transparent and sustainable projects. Given the challenges in the CO2 and biodiversity market, it is crucial to support credible environmental protection projects. The Pavilion connects forest owners with companies that want to fulfil their social and environmental responsibility. Here you can support projects that save CO2, strengthen biodiversity and offer real added value for society.

Further information

Experience the Innovation Hike & Innovation Fair at the Future Forest Forum 2024!

Start-ups and innovative companies present their solutions for the forest. During the innovation walk around Blankenburg Castle on 6 September, you can get to know many innovations in detail in a very short time. Each innovator will briefly present their idea, followed by time for discussion with the solution providers. The walk also offers the opportunity to exchange ideas with other participants in small groups. On 7 September, you will deepen these discussions at the innovation fair. Here, innovators will have the opportunity to present their solutions again and provide in-depth insights - an ideal platform for shaping the future of innovation in the forest together. Use this opportunity to make valuable contacts and advance your ideas!

Experience the FFI Accelerator and its presentation at the Future Forest Forum 2024! Startups present their groundbreaking solutions for the forest. After the Selection Day in the run-up, the best startups will pitch on the big stage of the forum on 6 September. Here you have the opportunity to win a wildcard in the public voting and talk directly to the innovators. The forum is characterised by its innovative, young character - here you are at the cutting edge of the latest ideas and innovations. The start-ups develop solutions for exciting challenges relating to biodiversity, digitalisation and monitoring. Here you can exchange ideas with startups, discover synergies and shape the future of forest innovation together!

We are presenting the FFI Innovation Lab at the Future Forest Forum 2024.

Innovations are only valuable if they offer concrete solutions for forest owners, forestry operations or society. That's why we launched the Innovation Lab to test these solutions in a practical way. Together with Christoph zu Stolberg and others, we are presenting initial collaborations, projects and plans for a real-life laboratory to develop, test and validate the start-up solutions. Find out how you can get involved and why the start-ups in the FFI Accelerator are more likely to achieve market success.

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th

	International Stage (ENG)	Nature Pavillon	Future Forest Stage (DE)
9:00 am	Check-In
10:00 am	Welcome Speech The jouney so far: update on the state of the Future Forest Innovation Ecosystem
11:00 am	High-level keynote by Janna Ensthaler (ENG) Green invest, sustainability and the forest-based economy: how to leverage „big money“? Panel (ENG) Green Investments as a key enabler for the new forest-based Economy? (ENG)
12:15 - 1:00 pm	Lunch break
1:00 pm	Session Cooporate: CO2 markets CO2-Markets - status quo and chances for startups and the forest sector	NatureLink Pavillon Workshop 1: Update on rules and regulation for the sustainability market in Germany and Europe Impuls Talks and Pitches	Session Forest: Silvicultural approach Schwammwald – der Waldbau von morgen?
2:45 pm	Session Cooperate: Biodiversity markets Biodiversity Markets - „grown-up sibling“ of CO2-Markets?	Workshop 2: Preventing green washing allegations by investing in high integrity NBS projects Impuls Talks and Pitches	Session Forest: Digitalization Digitaler Zwilling des Waldes - Wegbereiter des Waldwirtschaft von morgen?
4:00 pm	Future Forest Award Startup-Pitches of Batch #3 from our Future Forest Accelerator
4:00 pm
5:30 pm	Innovation-hike Experience innovation in practice!	Workshop 3: Investment Opportunities for Corporates in Germany and European NBS projects	Movie: "The biggest little farm" (ENG)
7:00 pm	Joint dinner in the castle courtyard
8:00 pm	Future Forest Audience-Award ceremony
8:30 pm - open end	Evening of networking at the castle with a fire bowl, live music and a guided tour of the castle at night

DAY 2 - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th

	Future Forest Stage (DE)	International Stage (DE + ENG)	Nature Pavillon and further spaces
from 10 am	All-day excursions "Harz National Park - Spotlight Biodiversity" An overview and registration options for the excursions we offer will follow in the coming weeks.
10:00 am	Joint Breakfast High-Level Interview (tba)

10:45 am	Innovation-fair Companies and innovators present their solutions	Community-Spotlight (ENG) 15-Minute-Short-Presentations by FFI Community-Members	Masterclass #1 (DE) Innovationsmanagement in Forstbetrieben
12:00 - 2:00 pm	Lunch break		Further exkursions (ca. 3h) An overview and registration options for the excursions we offer will follow in the coming weeks.
1:15 pm	Workshops (tba) In-depth interactive workshops will be held in line with our thematic focal points Water Retention Forest, Digital Twin, CO2 Markets and Biodiversity Markets.		Masterclass #2 (DE) Kommunikationsstrategien für die Waldwirtschaft
4:00 pm	Recap and farewell (ENG + DE) (End 4:30 pm)

As in previous years, we reserve a number of hotels in and around Blankenburg especially for our forum. If you are a participant in our event, you have the opportunity to book accommodation at the following hotels by referring to the keyword "Future Forest Forum":

Harzhotel Vogelberg

69€ per night incl. breakfast (rustic)

Vogelherd 10

38889 Blankenburg

+49 3944 9260

info@hotel-vogelberg.de

Schlosshotel Blankenburg

115€ per night incl. breakfast (upscale)

Schnappelberg 5

38889 Blankenburg

+49 39 44 36 190

service@schlosshotel-blankenburg.de

Kurhotel Fürstenhof

from 139€ per night

Mauerstraße 9

38889 Blankenburg
info@wellnesshotel-fuerstenhof.de

Gut Voigtländer

from 140€ per night

Am Thie 2

38889 Blankenburg
mail@gut-voigtlaender.de

Hotel & Restaurant „Zum Klosterfischer“

Single room from 86€ / double room from 110€ per night

Michaelstein 14

D-38889 Blankenburg/Harz

klosterfischer@t-online.de

Landgasthaus Zander

99€ per night, incl. breakfast

Elbingeröder Straße 2

38889 Blankenburg – Heimburg

info@landgasthauszander.de

Hotel Mythenresort Heimdall

from 139€ per night

Poststraße 18

06502 Thale

info@mythenresort.de

(Further opportunities will follow soon.)

Alternative: you can find many small holiday flats and guesthouses in Blankenburg and the surrounding area

As there are only very limited parking facilities at Blankenburg Castle, we would ask you to walk the last few metres. The route is signposted accordingly.
Therefore, please use the car parks on Schnappelberg or in front of Schlosshotel Blankenburg. From here, it is a 10-minute walk through the palace gardens to the Great Castle. To get there, follow the tourist signposts "Barocke Gärten" or "Schlösser und Gärten".

SEPTEMBER 6th + 7th | GROSSES SCHLOSS BLANKENBURG (HARZ)

FUTURE FOREST FORUM 2024

THE FORUM FOR THE FUTURE OF THE FOREST

The annual highlight for forest and climate innovators

WHY YOU MUST NOT MISS OUR FORUM

400+ participants

30+ speakers

10+ side events

Startups with impact

Pioneering forest innovation

Promising environmental markets

BECOME PART OF FUTURE FOREST FORUM 2024

Forest owners & corporates

Startups & investors

Project-Developer

Students

Keynote-speakers

Dörte Roloff

Janna Ensthaler

Hannah Schragmann

Elmar Stertenbrink

Falk Steiner

Lisa Schmitt

Henrik Hartmann

Christin Rothe

Dr. Roland Pietsch

Alexander Winkler

Andreas Heger

Bernd Farcke

Vera Butterweck-Kruse

Simon Respondek

Weitere Speaker:innen

Content for the future of the forest

Forestry

Silviculture of tomorrow

Digitalisierung: Digital Twin of the Forest

Connection

Nature Link Pavilion

Workshops: Sustainable Market Integrity and Investment

Markets

CO2 markets & forests

Beyond CO2: New Markets for the Environment

How to experience the Future Forum 2024

NatureLink Pavillon

Innovationhike and -fair

FFI Accelerator

Innovationlab

Programme

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th

9:00 am

Check-In

10:00 am

Welcome Speech

11:00 am

High-level keynote by Janna Ensthaler (ENG)

Panel (ENG)

12:15 - 1:00 pm

Lunch break

1:00 pm

Session Cooporate: CO2 markets

NatureLink Pavillon

Session Forest: Silvicultural approach

2:45 pm

Session Cooperate: Biodiversity markets

Session Forest: Digitalization

4:00 pm

Future Forest Award

5:30 pm

Innovation-hike

Movie: "The biggest little farm" (ENG)

7:00 pm

Joint dinner in the castle courtyard

8:00 pm

Future Forest Audience-Award ceremony

8:30 pm - open end

Evening of networking at the castle

DAY 2 - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th

from 10 am

All-day excursions "Harz National Park - Spotlight Biodiversity"

10:00 am