Over the past 50 years, the forestry industry has offered one of the clearest case studies of what happens when industries cling to legacy models or evolve beyond them. Through a deep dive into global patent data, our research traced the rise, stagnation, and eventual reinvention of forestry innovation. And while it may seem a world away from boardroom life, this story holds valuable insights for any business navigating sustainability, uncertainty, and technological change.

Here’s what we uncovered, and how today’s business leaders can use our research to their advantage.

1. The Rise, the Fall, and the Pivot

What we found:

Patent activity in forestry surged from 1970 to 2000, led by mechanical and chemical inventions like felling machinery and pesticides. But innovation flatlined in the early 2000s. Only in the last decade did new life emerge. This time, however, driven by ESG-informed policy changes, innovation in forestry focused on sustainability: patents for soil regeneration, remote sensing, and ecosystem health began to rise.

Why it matters:

This shift mirrors what we now see across many industries: the old growth engines are slower to deliver. Innovation driven purely by productivity is actually using the wrong growth map.

How it applies in business:

Companies stuck in extractive, output-maximising models risk falling behind. The winners will be those who reframe value as longer-lasting and realigned.

Where to look:

Look for parts of your business where processes haven’t changed in years, where KPIs are flat but no one’s panicking, or where people keep saying “this is how we’ve always done it.” These are the places legacy thinking clings tight. Honestly, a pivot might be overdue.

Ask yourself:

• Are we still prioritising volume over value, even when customer behaviour or regulation suggests otherwise?
• Which product lines or processes are built on assumptions that haven’t been challenged in years?
• Are our innovation efforts addressing future conditions – or just optimising legacy systems?
• Do we have a mechanism to sunset outdated approaches and redirect energy toward emerging needs?

2. Productivity Reimagined

What we found:

Forestry’s benchmark for success used to be fibre-per-hectare. Today, it’s ecosystem services like water retention, carbon capture, and soil health. Patent trends show increased activity in bioenergy, waste-to-value systems, and integration with agriculture, especially after 2010.

Why it matters:

Productivity is being redefined. Not just in forestry, but everywhere. Sustainability is is becoming increasingly embedded in the core measure of business success.

Where it applies in business:

Firms across sectors – from consumer goods to construction – are rethinking what ‘performance’ looks like. Environmental and social impact are moving from compliance exercises to core metrics.

Where to look:

Red flags include metrics that measure only outputs, and not outcomes; dashboards that track speed but not impact; and sustainability treated as a side quest, not a strategy. If value creation doesn’t consider social, environmental, and long-term returns, it’s time to rethink and upgrade your definition of productivity.

What to ask:

• Are we still measuring success with yesterday’s yardsticks?
• Where in our reporting or metrics do sustainability and systems health show up—and where are they absent?
• What would it take to move from ‘less harm’ to ‘net positive’ in our operations or offerings?
  
• Are we designing products and services that create value across the ecosystem—not just for shareholders?

3. Big Wins from Small Bets

What we found:

Some of the most cited patents in forestry were actually just small improvements: ergonomic tools, biodegradable inputs, or microbial soil enhancers. These “quiet patents” were often overlooked but later proved crucial to longer-term resilience.

Why it matters:

Game-changing innovation doesn’t always come in bold packaging. Subtle improvements, especially at the systems or process level, can unlock long-term advantages.

How it applies in business:

Companies obsessed with high-profile innovation can overlook the tweaks and tools that quietly build adaptability and customer value. 

Where to look:

Pay attention to the ideas that never make it past brainstorming sessions (think low-cost experiments shelved for “later”) and to the tools that get quietly hacked by frontline staff. These overlooked pockets often contain the seeds of system-level change if you’re brave enough to nurture them.

What to ask:

• What minor improvements or ideas have been dismissed because they don’t scream “innovation”?
• Where are frontline teams already hacking the system in smart ways – and how can we learn from them?
• Are we allocating resources to low-risk, high-learning experiments?
• Do we have a “slow ideas” pipeline – a place for thoughtful, long-term plays to quietly mature?

4. Innovation Loves Variety

What we found:

In decades where forestry innovation concentrated in a narrow set of tech (e.g., chemicals or machinery), growth slowed. When patent activity diversified to elements like mushroom cultivation and remote sensing, momentum returned.

Why it matters:

Resilient innovation ecosystems are diverse. When multiple disciplines, sectors, and approaches intersect, industries leap forward.

How it applies in business:

Cross-functional, cross-sector collaboration is how future-forward innovation happens. Silos kill opportunity.

Where to look:

If everyone in the room looks the same, thinks the same, and went to the same business school, you have an innovation problem. Lack of variety breeds blind spots. Scan your partnerships, R&D inputs, and hiring practices. Where are you recycling ideas instead of remixing them?

What to ask:

• Does our R&D or innovation team reflect true diversity of discipline, background, perspective?
  
• Where are we relying on the same partners or playbooks and what fresh voices could challenge our assumptions?
  
• Could our next innovation come from outside our sector entirely?
  
• Are we creating space (and incentives) for cross-pollination between business units or industry peers?

Seeing the Wood for the Trees

Forestry’s story shows us what happens when industries cling too tightly to past successes, and what becomes possible when they evolve toward resilience and regeneration. Business leaders today face the same choice: see a whole bunch of trees you need to cut down to make money, or appreciate the value of wood.