6 best solutions to climate change for businesses

Explore solutions to climate change that help address its ongoing threat, including forest protection, reforestation, sustainable farming, and transportation.

Agosto 7, 2025

Carbon dioxide has risen to over 400 parts per million, up from 280 ppm in pre-industrial times, marking the highest levels in 400,000 years.

Climate change presents various issues, from rising temperatures and extreme weather events to dwindling resources and threatened ecosystems.

Although it's a complex issue, there is hope. Businesses have a critical role, and strategies like forest stewardship and sustainable land use offer practical ways to help prevent climate change at the source.

From sustainable forestry to low-emission transportation, these strategies offer a roadmap toward a more resilient, low-carbon future. This guide highlights six of the best solutions to climate change that businesses can adopt in 2025 and beyond.

Table of contents:

Protect, restore, and manage forests
Practice climate-smart forestry and agriculture
Embrace organic farming practices
Switch to climate-friendly transportation
Shop FSC-certified products

1. Protect, restore, and manage forests

Forests provide essential ecological services, supporting biodiversity and acting as powerful carbon sinks. As trees grow, they absorb and store carbon dioxide, helping reduce greenhouse gas levels.

Deforestation and forest degradation account for about 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and drive biodiversity loss. These disruptions intensify climate impacts, leading to resource shortages and supply chain instability.

Businesses face growing risks from the interconnected crises of climate change and nature loss. According to the World Economic Forum, an estimated $44 trillion in global GDP is at risk due to declining natural resources and ecosystem services.
Businesses can reduce emissions, protect supply chains, and support climate goals by integrating forests into their sustainability strategies:

Commit to zero deforestation: Map your supply chain, identify forest-risk commodities, and set clear sourcing policies. Use third-party audits to verify compliance.
Invest in restoration: Support reforestation or fund high-quality carbon projects with climate and biodiversity benefits.
Embed forest goals internally: Tie executive KPIs to forest stewardship, train teams, and support employee-led sustainability efforts.

A three-part approach to forest management can strengthen long-term business resilience:

Protect and conserve forests: Mature forests store carbon and regulate the climate. Conserving them avoids emissions and preserves ecosystems.
Reforest and restore degraded forests: Replanting trees removes CO₂, rebuilds habitats, and boosts ecosystem resilience.
Manage sustainably forested areas: Practices like selective logging and native planting help forests stay healthy and productive over time.

Protecting and restoring tropical forests could account for at least 30 percent of the solution to the climate crisis, while also helping preserve the ecosystems businesses depend on.

The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) provides a trusted framework to help businesses manage forests responsibly. This includes planning forest management interventions, evaluating the impact of different forest risks, and implementing key activities for forests with high conservation values (HCV).

A flowchart graphic showing how forest conservation contributes to protecting forests.

2. Practice climate-smart forestry and agriculture

U.S. forests store nearly 16 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to the annual emissions from 50 million vehicles.

Climate-smart forestry is a targeted strategy that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilient forests, and sustainably increase the benefits forests provide.

This powerful carbon sink is not guaranteed—it depends on how forests are managed. For businesses that rely on land-based resources, investing in climate-smart forestry can help maintain carbon storage and strengthen supply chain resilience.

These approaches often align with sustainable forestry practices, which balance environmental health with economic and social needs. For businesses, this means protecting the natural systems they rely on for raw materials, water, and long-term land stability.

According to FSC’s carbon storage study, responsible forest management is one of the few methods for sequestering carbon that offers a cost-effective way to address the climate crisis.

Key findings from the study showed, for example, that FSC-managed forests in the Gulf Coastal Plain stored an additional 1.00 tonne of CO2e per acre compared to common practice.

An image showing 6 important solutions to climate change.

3. Embrace organic farming practices

Organic farming practices offer a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture practices. The FAO found in a meta-analysis of 766 scientific papers that biodiversity is higher in organic farming than in traditional farming. This increase in biodiversity supports healthier soils, water systems, and surrounding natural habitats.

Key elements of organic farming include using natural pest control and fertilizers, which reduce chemical runoff and lower greenhouse gas emissions linked to synthetic inputs.

Healthy, organic soils can also act as carbon sinks, drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and further reducing agriculture’s climate impact.

For those exploring how to stop climate change through natural methods, organic and regenerative farming offer a proven path forward. Practices such as permaculture and holistic grazing help restore degraded land and strengthen the resilience of both farms and nearby forests.

4. Switch to climate-friendly transportation

Transportation is a major source of emissions, with road transport accounting for 15 per cent of global emissions and aviation contributing 2.5 per cent in 2023.

Transitioning to climate-friendly transportation is key to reducing carbon output and advancing global climate goals. It is also one of the most practical global warming solutions available to individuals, communities, and businesses.

Prioritizing public transportation, walking, and cycling reduces individual carbon footprints, alleviates traffic congestion, and promotes healthier lifestyles. Public transportation systems offer eco-friendly alternatives to driving personal vehicles while enhancing accessibility for communities.

In addition to personal choices, businesses can adopt low-emission strategies to reduce their transportation footprint. This includes offering public transit incentives, using lower-carbon logistics, or choosing FSC-certified products to support emissions reductions beyond transportation through responsible forest management.

One key strategy to lowering carbon emissions in the transportation sector is investing in electric vehicles (EVs). EVs, when powered by clean electricity, help significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional vehicles. They will likely be key in meeting Net Zero Emissions targets by 2050.

An image comparing transportation options by carbon impact.

5. Build with responsibly sourced materials

The construction industry accounts for an estimated 37 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the most environmentally intensive sectors.

A major contributor to this footprint is the sourcing of building materials. Choosing responsibly sourced materials, such as FSC-certified wood, supports sustainable construction and offers a practical solution to global warming in the built environment.

These materials come from forests managed to protect biodiversity and support communities, while storing carbon both in the forest and in the harvested wood products.

Certified materials can also help businesses lead on sustainability. Promoting these choices to employees, customers, and stakeholders encourages environmentally responsible supply chains.

6. Shop FSC-certified products

Choosing products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) is a proactive way to support responsible forest management.

Forest managers can also leverage FSC’s ecosystem services claims to highlight the positive climate impact of their commitment to sustainable business practices.

By selecting FSC-certified products, both individuals and businesses help maintain forest ecosystems, reduce environmental impact and expand carbon sinks that absorb greenhouse gases. These actions contribute to broader climate solutions and help demonstrate why forests matter in protecting the planet’s future.

The FSC label assures that companies have sourced materials in alignment with forest sustainability and internationally recognized climate goals. It also promotes practices such as selective harvesting, watershed protection and community-based forest management.

Take action through forest-based solutions

Forests are one of the most effective ways to address climate change. Choosing FSC-certified products and adopting sustainable land practices helps businesses and individuals contribute to a healthier planet.

Want to deepen your impact? Explore FSC’s Verified Impact to learn how businesses and forest managers can track climate, forest and nature data from FSC-certified forests and showcase the value of responsible forestry.

Additional resources

Read more about the sustainable use of biodiversity through landscapes and ecosystem approaches from FAO’s Strategy on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors.

Learn about ongoing research on sustainable forestry across eastern United States forests with The University of Maine’s Center for Research on Sustainable Forests. Read more about the effects of unsustainable forestry on climate change from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

For international research, check the state of the world’s forests and biodiversity through the Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations.