PR99475

HONG KONG and SINGAPORE, Jan. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Efforts will surface and scale innovative solutions that strengthen sustainable

forestry and improve health and well-being.

Manulife and the World Economic Forum ("the Forum"), announced the launch of

two Innovation Challenges in 2023 through UpLink, the Forum's open innovation

platform. The partnership was announced at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos

and aims to engage ecopreneurs and partners to help them scale new and

innovative ideas and ventures.

The two UpLink Innovation Challenges will unlock solutions that stem from, and

are aimed at, forests, to galvanize an ecopreneur revolution that will help to

safeguard nature, climate, livelihoods, and the well-being of people. Full

project details, including eligibility criteria and timelines, can be found on

the challenge page

here(https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-issue/a002o0000174Au0/sustainabl

e-forest-economy-challenge).

The Sustainable Forest Economy Challenge will aim to source innovative

solutions across the value chain from the sustainable management of forests to

the production and utilization of wood. A climate smart forest economy approach

is critical to protect, maintain, manage, restore, and regrow forests.

Applicants can begin applying today through March 1st, 2023.

The Forests and Trees Improving Human Health and Well-being Challenge will aim

to surface innovations fostering improved interlinkages between planetary and

human health. Details for this challenge will be made public later this year.

Biodiversity is degrading faster than at any time in history[1], driving poor

environmental, economic, and human health outcomes. This includes the loss of

forests, which is destabilizing natural systems. Sustainably managed forests

and farms are a critical part of reversing harmful environmental impacts; they

sequester carbon, regulate global temperatures and freshwater flows, recharge

groundwater, anchor fertile soil, act as flood barriers, and have been shown to

enhance mental and physical health. Through this project, Manulife furthers its

ongoing commitment to continue scaling nature-based climate solutions and

investments in sustainable forestry and farmland to help combat nature loss,

because collective action is needed to sustain our societies and economies.

"Our environment is key to human health and wellbeing, and as a global life

insurer and asset manager, we see firsthand how damaged ecosystems put

livelihoods and economies at risk," said Roy Gori, President and CEO, Manulife.

"Given our position as one of the world's largest sustainable timberland and

farmland investment managers[2], we can support and scale innovative solutions,

which are urgently needed in response to the rapid degradation of nature and

biodiversity. We are very excited to launch this project with the World

Economic Forum and UpLink and want to hear from passionate, big thinkers who

can help us address and reverse nature loss."

"Innovation is not a nice-to-have, but an essential ingredient in achieving the

United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals(https://sdgs.un.org/goals),"

said John Dutton, Head of UpLink and Member of the Executive Committee for the

World Economic Forum. "We're proud to join forces with Manulife to source and

scale the innovative solutions that will strengthen sustainable forestry,

improve wellbeing, and promote nature-based solutions to climate change. This

commitment will help to shine a light on the often-overlooked purpose-driven

entrepreneurs whose solutions are so urgently needed, giving them the

visibility, resources, and expertise they need to tackle the world's biggest

challenges head on."

This project builds upon Manulife and the World Economic Forum's continued

partnership. Late last year, Manulife announced a pledge to

1t.org(https://www.manulife.com/en/news/manulife-announces-1torg-pledge-to-scale

-nature-based-solutions-in-effort-to-mitigate-climate-change.html) which is the

Forum's Trillion Trees initiative. As part of the pledge, Manulife is aiming to

scale Manulife Investment Management's carbon-focused forestry investments and

sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere through the forests it manages over a

period of 5 years.

Like the 1t.org pledge, this partnership with Uplink aligns to Manulife's

recently announced Impact

Agenda(https://www.manulife.com/en/about/sustainability/impact-agenda.html),

which aims to build business to better the world by making decisions about the

future of the firm's business, rooted in the belief that collective actions

drive meaningful change. To learn more about Manulife's Impact Agenda, and to

track progress against its goals, visit manulife.com/impact.

[1] Based on the "The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services" released by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IBPES) in 2019.

[2] RISI, Inc. 2021 data based on top 15 global Timber Investment Management

Organizations (TIMO) by assets under management. Manulife pays a subscription

fee for access to the database.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services

provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our

global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and

insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily

as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management,

the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve

individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of

2021, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 119,000 agents, and thousands of

distribution partners, serving over 33 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on

the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in

Hong Kong. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional

information, please visit manulife.com.

About UpLink

UpLink is the open innovation platform of the World Economic Forum, designed to

unlock an 'entrepreneur revolution' for people and planet by supporting

start-ups with innovative solutions for the world's most pressing issues, as

outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Launched at the World Economic Forum's 2020 Annual Meeting in Davos in

partnership with Deloitte and Salesforce, UpLink builds bridges between

entrepreneurs and the investors, experts and partners who can help scale their

ventures. UpLink crowdsources new innovations through a competition framework

known as innovation challenges. UpLink has now run more than 43 challenges and

identified over 350 entrepreneurs with innovative solutions across critical SDG

areas including health, food, freshwater, ocean, plastics, education, climate

and more. For more information, visit https://uplink.weforum.org

About 1t.org

1t.org is a World Economic Forum initiative that serves a global movement to

conserve, grow and restore 1 trillion trees by 2030. 1t.org is set up to

support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. 1t.org mobilizes private sector

engagement and ambition in forest conservation and restoration, facilitates

multistakeholder dialogues in key geographies, and supports innovation,

ecopreneurship and youth to incentivize and accelerate restoration. For

additional information, please visit www.1t.org.

Source: Manulife Investment Management