We are driven by the pursuit of green growth, and we have made sustainability, traceability, and certification one of our priorities.

The TraCer Initiative

Through the TraCer Initiative, Akiba’s wooden furniture is 100% ethically sourced, legal and traceable. Each piece has a specific QR code label that pinpoints the exact GPS coordinates of the tree it was made from. The TraCer initiative was spearheaded by the Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ) and managed by the Forêt Ressources Management (FRM) group and Brainforest – a Gabonese non-governmental organization (NGO).

The TraCer initiative creates a rigorous accountability mechanism to ensure that all Akiba’s sourced woods adhere to the Gabonese Forestry Code, which is one of the most robust in the world. It ensures that Akiba trees are harvested on a 20-year rotating basis, that only mature trees at a certain diameter and height are selected, and that all Akiba’s furniture is sourced and processed in the country of origin.

Sustainable Forestry and Carbon Capture

Our trees are harvested in a way that causes minimal damage to the surrounding trees and vegetation. They are then transported on roads which have been carefully routed and narrowly constructed to create minimal disturbance to the forest. Selective felling also promotes new growth in the forest as it allows sunlight to penetrate the dense forest canopy, enabling smaller tree species and other vegetation to grow more quickly and boosting carbon sequestration.

There is an increasing amount of evidence that the adoption of reduced-impact logging and wood processing technologies (RIL+) along with financial incentives can reduce forest fires, forest degradation, maintain timber production, and retain carbon stocks. The REDD+ scheme (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, has provided opportunities to manage tropical forests for timber production and carbon emission reductions. The United Nations, has for many years now recognised the importance of sustainable forestry to reduce carbon emissions and provide economic value for developing countries. This idea has gained much ground recently, as demonstrated by the billions of dollars committed to forests at COP26 by world leaders and business titans.