National Forestry Agency and Efes Georgia Sign Cooperation Agreement to Support Forest Restoration

The National Forestry Agency of Georgia has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Efes Georgia, the local representative of the Efes Breweries International Group (EBI), to strengthen joint efforts in forest restoration and environmental sustainability.

The agreement was signed by Kakha Tsertsvadze, Head of the National Forestry Agency, and Burch Kurtoglu, Director of JSC Lomis, a local affiliate of Efes.

The cooperation falls under the framework of “Friend of the Forest”, a national volunteer platform aimed at promoting forest protection, restoration, and sustainable forest management, with active involvement from the private sector and civil society.

As part of the partnership, the National Forestry Agency will be responsible for identifying priority areas for reforestation, preparing restoration projects, and overseeing their implementation.

“Our key goal is to unite society around the idea of environmental responsibility,” said Tsertsvadze. “This platform aims to engage not just volunteers but major private companies. Efes Georgia’s participation is a testament to that. With their support, we expect to implement several important forest restoration initiatives.”

The “Friend of the Forest” platform was launched by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and the National Forestry Agency, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its Biodiversity Financing Initiative (BIOFIN).

Efes Georgia is among the first private companies to join the platform. In 2023, the company initiated reforestation activities on 12 hectares in Tianeti, demonstrating its commitment to environmental responsibility and corporate sustainability.