Insights from the 2025 World Economic Forum’s GAEA Awards

AMSTERDAM, July 14. Built by Nature is proud to be featured in the World Economic Forum’s latest report, Making Collaboration Work for Climate and Nature, as a standout example of an industry-wide alliance driving systemic change.

Download the Report

The report highlights key lessons from the winners and finalists of the 2025 GAEA Awards. Built by Nature was honored with the GAEA Award for Impactful Innovation Enabler, recognizing our pioneering work in accelerating the timber building transformation across Europe and beyond.

A Model for Transformative Collaboration

The white paper identifies Built by Nature as a leading example of an industry-wide alliance, a model that unites organizations across the built environment to tackle shared challenges, foster innovation, and influence policy and standards.

“Built by Nature’s network model scales up innovation in timber-based building, while fostering knowledge exchange and defining standards and policy in the European and global construction industry.”

World Economic Forum, 2025

Key Highlights from the Report

• Mission-driven independence: Our philanthropic funding model ensures objectivity and long-term focus.
• Network strength: Each national network includes 25–50 influential actors selected for their scale, innovation, and leadership.
• Local and global impact: From tackling insurability concerns in the UK to developing financing models for bio-based social housing in the Netherlands, our networks address both local barriers and cross-border solutions.
• Policy influence: We co-developed the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction with the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership.
• Trust and alignment: Annual member surveys and small-group formats foster deep collaboration and shared priorities.

A Call to Action

The report underscores the urgency of scaling up collaborative models like Built by Nature’s to meet the climate and nature crises. We are honored to be recognized and hope our work inspires others to join this growing movement for a nature-positive, low-carbon built environment.