H&M Group partners with WWF to launch AI app to tackle deforestation

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the H&M Group have developed a new application that seeks to help clothing and textile industries lessen their impact on deforestation.

According to a WWF press release, the Wood Artificial Intelligence Application, also known as the WoodAI App, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify wood species and offer details on biomass origin.

Workers can identify wood species and confirm that the wood they obtain for power generation is from the H&M Group’s certified plantation species using a smartphone and a macro lens.

In addition to possibly assisting the fashion industry in reducing greenhouse gas emissions when using sources like biomass to power its manufacturing processes, the effort aims to assist manufacturers in making better decisions regarding their sourcing to lessen the impact on forests.

The software can provide a resource to help initiatives needed in Cambodia to appropriately manage crops and forests in addition to other remedies.

Neth Pheaktra, secretary of state for the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, said that the H&M Group’s commitment to addressing climate change was welcomed by the government.

Pheaktra added that the WoodAI App is a significant contribution to tackling some of the factors contributing to deforestation. For the long-term good of people and ecology, the Ministry urges other clothing companies to adopt this model and to support initiatives to preserve natural forests and animals.

The WoodAI app can be a valuable tool in supporting the efforts required in Cambodia to properly manage plantations and forests when used in combination with other additional solutions. The H&M Group hopes that initiatives like these will contribute to its larger initiatives to maintain the health of forest ecosystems and their capacity to store CO2. Reducing deforestation is necessary for limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which also makes it crucial for H&M Group’s aim of being net zero by 2040.

Christer Horn af Aminne, country manager for H&M Group in Cambodia, said that it is exciting to explore this innovative technology in Cambodia and identify new methods to engage with suppliers that might help lessen the negative effects on Cambodia’s natural forests.