KOKO FOREST ENTERS A NEW PHASE OF GROWTH
KOKO Forest is entering a new phase of growth by strengthening its leadership and expanding its service offering with new research-based solutions developed in collaboration with Luontoa Oy.
The company continues its strong work in monitoring and analysing forest health, biodiversity, carbon balance and climate risks. KOKO Forest combines satellite and aerial imagery, LiDAR, various geospatial datasets, ecological research and artificial intelligence to produce accurate and scalable information on the condition of forests and other habitats in near real time. Its solutions help customers identify changes, assess risks and make better decisions in forest management, land use and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Demand for reliable forest and nature data is growing rapidly. Companies, cities, nvestors and other actors involved in land use increasingly need more accurate information on the state of nature, climate and nature-related risks, and the impacts of their activities. At the same time, sustainability work is shifting from commitments towards measurable and verifiable impact. KOKO Forest is responding to this development by complementing its existing services with new nature-related solutions that meet customers’ rapidly evolving needs.
To support this transition, Lauri Tamminen has been appointed as the company’s new CEO, having taken up the role in July. Tamminen joined KOKO Forest from his position as Sales Officer at Luontoa Oy. Company founder Samuli Junttila continues as KOKO Forest’s Chief Scientific Officer, with responsibility for research, methodological development and the creation of new innovations.
A key part of this new growth phase is also the deepening collaboration with Luontoa. KOKO Forest’s research and technology expertise is complemented by Luontoa’s expertise in strategic biodiversity management, corporate sustainability, developments in legislation and reporting, and certification. Together, the companies are developing solutions in which research-based nature data supports customers’ practical decision-making.
From research to world-class forest and nature analytics
KOKO Forest was founded by researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Helsinki, with the ambition of building world-leading forest and nature analytics services through research, technology and AI-based analytics. The company maintains strong links with academia, and its development work is carried out in close collaboration with universities and other research organisations.
Its solutions support the forest sector, cities, infrastructure and energy companies, agricultural value chains, certification and reporting systems, and increasingly also banks, insurance companies and investors that need reliable information on nature-related risks and opportunities to support decision-making.
“KOKO Forest has built a strong scientific foundation for forest and nature analytics. The next step is to bring this expertise into wider use among customers. Lauri has exactly the kind of experience in commercialising research-based solutions that this next phase requires,” says Samuli Junttila.
Lauri Tamminen to lead the next phase of growth
In his previous roles, Lauri Tamminen has been responsible for sales and business development at companies including Luontoa, CollectiveCrunch and Simosol. At KOKO Forest, his role is to accelerate the company’s growth, service development and international expansion while maintaining its strong scientific foundation.
“We want to build high-quality services in which scientific research and practical applicability go hand in hand.”
“KOKO Forest has an exceptionally strong research background and technological expertise. We want to build high-quality services in which scientific research and practical applicability go hand in hand.The importance of information on biodiversity, forest health and climate risks is growing rapidly, and our goal is to help our customers use this information more effectively.”
Collaboration is already visible in major development and customer projects
KOKO Forest and Luontoa are currently developing next-generation methods for measuring biodiversity in the European Space Agency (ESA)-funded Seeing Biodiversity from Space project. The project combines high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery, LiDAR, field observations and artificial intelligence to identify variables that are critical for biodiversity. The results are presented in a comparable format using a single biodiversity indicator, supporting needs related to land-use planning, sustainability reporting, investment decisions and emerging nature value markets.
The collaboration is also visible in practical customer projects. Together with the cities of Vantaa and Joensuu, the companies are applying methods for assessing the state of nature using remote sensing data to support land-use planning and ecological compensation. In addition, the companies have jointly developed new methods for verifying the impact of forest certification. The work supports the development of certification systems towards more transparent and measurable impact assessment.
This new growth phase gives KOKO Forest the opportunity to take on increasingly ambitious research, development and customer projects in Finland and internationally.
KOKO Forest provides research-based forest and nature analytics by combining satellite and other remote sensing data, geospatial information, artificial intelligence, and strong ecological expertise. The company develops scalable methods for monitoring and analysing forest health, biodiversity, carbon balance and climate risks. Its solutions provide accurate and up-to-date information on the state of nature and changes over time to support forest management, land use, risk management, and other decision-making.
For more information: Lauri Tamminen, CEO, +358 40 707 28 96
