Ethical-Times-Autumn-Newsletter-2011-v4

1
Ethical Times
tm
Autumn newsletter 2011
this issue...
New Costa Rican
Our Nurseries
head office springs into life.
See how our trees start life andhow they are
planted
Welcome to the Autumn 2011 newsletter. We are
pleased to announce the recentacquisition of the
new Costa Rican head office based in the San
Carlos region.
Taking GPS Points
How we register investorstrees and build our
TreeManagement Database
Harvesting trees
See how the trees are harvested andtransported
for processing
Our New Timber Mill
The bespoke processing plant forpreparing
sustainable logs for sale
This hub houses our offices milling
productionline, which has been specifically
designed to processsustainable logs from our
plantations. San Carlos willalso be the location
for the regions new nurseries,housing up to
100,000 new trees at any one time.Robert Brown,
our respected expert on greenhousedevelopment
and management, and head of EthicalForestry
Costa Rica, is overseeing this project.
personal money management. As a consequence
ofour caring employment philosophy, word has
spreadquickly throughout the region creating a
flurry of peopleenquiring when jobs become
available, confirming ourethos is working.
Meet an investor...
Barry Worby explains whyhe invested
Investors often ask us many questions regarding
theplanting, GPS points, harvesting and
processing. Insidewe share with you a typical
Ethical Forestry day startingat the nurseries,
harvesting trees and ending with thefinal sawn
lumber.
China
The constant reinvestment and development
ofSan Carlos extends further than
the commercialrequirements of our business. We
are also investing intothe wellbeing of our
employees (currently 42). We arefocused on
building a positive work environment
thatultimately leads to esteemed jobs and an
organisationthat resonates positively.
The latest figures on Chinas highdemand for
timber
We are also asked by investors if they can see
investorcase studies. As you will no doubt
appreciate, this hasproved a difficult task due
to investor confidentiality.Fortunately, Barry
Worby, a recent investor, shares hisstory about
why and how much he invested.
Supporting The
Community Programme
As part of our Support The Community
Programme,new caretakers houses are being built
on the San Carlossite. Geri Brown is overseeing
staff training seminarscovering a multitude of
topics from health safety to
We hope you enjoy the newsletter and always
welcomevalued feedback. Thank you, the Ethical
Forestry Team.
Caretakers take residence
For more information on our ethical investments
or to speak with an advisor, please call us free
on 0800 075 30 10 or visit www.ethicalforestry.com

2
From Start to Finish
We pride ourselves on our care management of
investors trees,our customer service and the
fact that we manage the wholeprocess from seed
to saleable lumber.
The Nursery...
Rapid growth...
The average height of a 2 weekold sapling is 6
inches, whereasa 6 week old tree is
approximately 2ft high.
Each individual greenhouse houses around
50,000seedlings at any one time.
The careful selection of genetically pure
seedsensures all of our trees get the best start
in life.
Preparing the land...
Before any young sapling can be planted,the
ground is cleared of potentially
Planting.
competing foliage to ensure the saplingsare
unhindered during the first stagesof growth.
Planted with care...
Each sapling is carefully planted by
ourgovernment approved forestry engineers.
Prior to planting...
Angie Fernandez, our head forestry engineer,
studies a plantationmap with the plantation
caretaker and forestry engineer.
3
Taking GPS coordinates...
Investing at every stage..
We believe that by constantlyinvesting and
reinvesting inthe best available
equipmentensures we give investors thebest
service possible.
Identifying each tree...
Checking before harvesting...
Every tree that we plant is given uniqueGPS
coordinates and registered on ourtree management
database.
Before any tree can be felled on our
plantations,we check the GPS coordinates to
ensure we areharvesting the correct tree.
Harvesting trees.
Assessment
Before any tree is harvested, the GPScoordinates
are referenced to our treemanagement database.
Prior to felling, the clearance ischecked by our
forestry engineers.Trunks are cut into the ideal
lengthto optimise the returns for the
treesbeing felled.
The logs are stacked ready fortransportation to
our timber mill.
4
Transporting catagorising...
MINAET certification
Log classification
Every delivery we receive is cross
During the process of classification,
checked against the MINAET certificat
each log is individually measured and
issued by our government approved
catagorised in piles of similar size.
forestry engineer.
Awaiting processing
Catagorised logs sit on the patioawaiting
loading into the hopper -the first stage in
turning them intosawn lumber.
The first stage...
Logs are loaded into thehopper and
automaticallydropped into the feeder.Each log
is rotated by eyeto ensure the most timberis
extracted from each log.
5
Centre block
Off cuts
The most valuable part of the logis the centre
block. The size of thisdepends on the thickness
of thelogs. The larger the log, the largerthe
extracted core section.
The off cuts removed when extractingthe centre
core are planed and sold tothe wood packaging
industry.
The finalproduct...
1 A pre-sawn log2 The centre block
3 Off cuts used for the wood packaging industry
6
An Investors Story
Written by Barry Worby
Barry Worby explains why he invested with Ethical
Forestry
I was looking to invest some money. I looked at
the
buy-to-let market but with property being so high
in pricestill, plus interest rates being so low,
it was not a goodinvestment at the time.
I also looked at stocks and shares plus possibly
ISAs (recommended to meby an IFA) but the
country/world is/was in such an unsettled state
they werenot an option. I sat at my computer and
thought laterally, I came acrossEthical
Forestry. I also found other companies selling a
similar idea butEthical Forestry seemed better
to me.
As I am 53 years old, I am not ready to retire
but looking at my pensions Iwould have had a
very basic, in fact almost breadline existence. I
decidedto invest into the Accumulator for this
purpose but not through apension scheme for
several reasons. I have also invested an
additionalamount that will bring me an
increasing income from year 4, which willreduce
the amount of daily work I need to do, so I can
get on with thethings I like doing.
My last investment was a gift to my two
daughters. I invested into theAccumulator, which
will hopefully help them in their life and I can
enjoy (Ihope) watching them spend, invest or
save the money while I am still alive.So many
people leave money to their children when they
die so they arenot here to watch them use the
money.
Chinas Timber DemandContinues to grow
Caretakers takeresidence
During the first half of 2011 China imported
20.75 million cubicmetres of logs worth
US3,918.7 million, up 25 percent involume and
35 percent in value over the same period last
year.
We are pleased to announcethat the
caretakers residenceare now completed on
ourCocobolo plantation.
Of the total, imports of softwood logs were 15.09
million cubic metres,(US2,319.9 million), up 33
percent in volume and 84 percent in value.
Importsof hardwood logs were 5.66 million cubic
metres, valued at US1,598.8 million,up 8
percent in volume and 11 percent in value.
The house is located on the top of asmall hill
overlooking the plantation, ariver and wild
rainforest adjacent to our
plantation. Our Supporting The CommunityProgramme
is currently preparing the build ofour new
caretaker nursery manager residences on theSan
Carlos site. We will give you an update in the
next newsletter.
As Chinas population continues to expand in line
with the global populationgrowth (projected as
much as 55.88 by 2050 - UN) over the coming
decades,
the demand for timber shows no signof
abating.
For more information on our ethical investments
or to speak with an advisor, please call us free
on 0800 075 30 10 or visit www.ethicalforestry.com

7
SIPPs
Can you afford to ignore the facts?
77 of Britons are retiring with their pensions
providingan income of less than 2,000 per year!
SIPPs have been around for some time but have
gained in popularityin recent years. This has
gathered momentum since A Day (the biggestshake
up in pension rules for more than a decade), with
the result thatSIPPs have entered the
mainstream.
You can transfer as many pensions as you wish.
All of the following areokay to transfer
Personal stakeholder pensions
Other SIPPs
SIPPs (Self Invested Personal Pensions) are
revolutionising the way investorsare saving for
retirement. More than half a million people have
switched, withrecord numbers transferring every
day.
Protected rights pensions
Retirement Annuity Contracts (RACs)
Additional Voluntary Contribution Plans (AVCs)
As the market has grown, it has also changed,
with the result that there aredifferent types of
SIPP available
Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution
plans (FSAVCs)
Executive Pension Plans (EPPs)
The SIPP is popular because-
Between your 55th and 75th birthdays, you can
normally take up to 25 ofyour SIPP as a tax
free cash lump sum, and use the remainder to
provide ataxable income before your 78th
birthday.
It is a simple structure
There are generous tax benefitsYou control your
own destiny
Picture the day you finish working. You will
finally have the freedom to do whatyou want,
when you want. But will your private pension(s)
provide you with
There is freedom of investment (but watch the
rules)It is now easier to make substantial
contributionsMost people are eligible for one
(even babies)
enough? The shocking statistic is that 77 of
Britons are retiring with theirpensions
providing an income of less than 2,000 per year!
Making the mostof your existing pensions has
therefore never been so important.
There are a number of different types of SIPP
care should be taken in selectingan appropriate
structure and you should seek the advice of your
IndependentFinancial Adviser. However, if you
dont have a financial adviser, Ethical
Forestryare happy to recommend one to you.
Its an ideal way to build wealth over the long
termin a tax free environment
As the market has grown so it has also changed -
as markets always do, withthe average fund value
dropping. Once, the SIPP was the preserve of the
highnet-worth individual and whilst that segment
of the market continues to grow,the growth in
smaller funds is significantly greater. Since the
main objectiveof simplification was to get
more people to take responsibility for their
retirement, this development is unsurprising.
Did you know youcan use your SIPP tobuy Ethical
Forestryhardwoods and stilltake advantage
ofthe tax benefits?
F
8
Acacia before first thinning harvest
For more information on our ethical investments
or to speak with an advisor, please call us free
on 0800 075 30 10 or visit www.ethicalforestry.com