Wildlife Habitat Council

What Wildlife Habitat Council does

Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) is a U.S.-based nonprofit founded in 1988, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, that operates a voluntary sustainability certification and consulting platform for biodiversity enhancement on corporate landholdings. Its core product, WHC Certification, is delivered through a SmartSimple-hosted platform (whc.smartsimple.com) and functions as a recognized third-party standard covering broad-based biodiversity enhancement and conservation education activities on lands managed by multinational corporations. Named enterprise participants include Marathon Petroleum, Constellation, and ExxonMobil, with member spotlights highlighting projects such as urban tree planting, wildlife protection programs, and avian conservation partnerships.

Since 2021, WHC has operated as part of Tandem Global, the parent nonprofit that connects corporate sustainability leaders with practical solutions across climate, nature, and water. Under this structure, WHC's portfolio includes certification fees, customizable consulting services for biodiversity goals, social impact programs that deliver nature-based solutions with NGOs and government agencies, and a thought-leadership layer of white papers, webinars, executive meetings, and an annual conference. Revenue mechanics combine recurring certification fees (subscription model) with project-based consulting and grant-funded social impact work, while customer segments span multinational corporations as the primary buyer, NGOs and government agencies as secondary partners, and urban communities as geographic beneficiaries of grant-funded projects.

Name

Wildlife Habitat Council

Legal name

Wildlife Habitat Council

Website

https://wildlifehc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wildlife Habitat Council is a U.S. nonprofit founded in 1988 that provides voluntary biodiversity certification, consulting, and nature-based social impact programs to multinational corporations managing corporate landholdings, now operating under Tandem Global.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biodiversity and Sustainability Certification Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release (BPAGAIAC), Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare) (BPAGAIAJ)

Keywords

• Biodiversity certification
• Corporate conservation
• Sustainability consulting
• Habitat management
• Voluntary sustainability standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Silver Spring

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Certification Fees: WHC Certification generates revenue through certification fees for corporate landholders seeking biodiversity enhancement recognition.
2. Consulting Services: Customizable consulting services for multinational corporations supporting biodiversity goals.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wildlife Habitat Council delivers the WHC Certification, a voluntary sustainability standard for biodiversity enhancement and conservation education on corporate landholdings, complemented by customizable biodiversity Consulting Services for multinational corporations, Social Impact Programs (nature-based solutions with NGOs and government agencies), and Thought Leadership events and content. Operations are powered through the SmartSimple-based WHC Certification platform (whc.smartsimple.com).

Product overview

Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) offers a portfolio of biodiversity certification and sustainability services. The core offering is WHC Certification, a voluntary sustainability standard for corporate landholdings focused on biodiversity enhancement and conservation education. This is complemented by Consulting Services for corporations meeting biodiversity goals, Social Impact Programs for nature-based ecosystem solutions, and Thought Leadership through events, webinars, and white papers. WHC operates as part of Tandem Global network, which includes an annual conference, executive meetings, and an index of certified programs. The portfolio follows a platform-and-services model where certification serves as the primary standard, with supporting services for implementation, education, and industry engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WHC Certification: A leading voluntary sustainability standard designed for broad-based biodiversity enhancement and conservation education activities on corporate landholdings.

Products and services

• WHC Certification A leading voluntary sustainability standard designed for broad-based biodiversity enhancement and conservation education activities on corporate landholdings, powered by Tandem Global. Enterprises apply through the WHC Certification platform and receive recognized third-party certification of their on-the-ground conservation programs.
• Consulting Services Customizable, budget-friendly consulting engagements that connect leading thinking with practical solutions impacting climate, nature, and water, supporting multinational corporations in meeting biodiversity goals.
• Social Impact Programs Nature-based solutions programs delivered in collaboration with corporations, NGOs, and government agencies to revitalize ecosystems, strengthen green spaces, and foster economic opportunities, including grant-funded urban canopy and biodiversity initiatives.
• Tandem Global Conference Annual flagship conference that convenes corporate conservation leaders for executive meetings, thought leadership sessions, and the presentation of Corporate Conservation Awards, with sponsorship and registration packages offered to corporate members and partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Urban heat mitigation through tree planting
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• USDA Forest ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSDA Forest Service provides support for the urban canopy improvement project in Northwest Indiana, contributing to tree planting and environmental conservation efforts.
• Tandem GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHC Certification is powered by Tandem Global. Tandem Global connects leading thinking with practical solutions impacting climate, nature, and water. They provide consulting services, certification programs, social impact initiatives, and thought leadership events.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forest Stewardship Council: Operates a voluntary sustainability certification standard (FSC certification) for responsible forest management on landholdings. Closely comparable business model to WHC Certification: third-party audited voluntary standard, membership-based governance, and recurring certification fees from corporate landholders.
• Rainforest Alliance: Runs the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal — a voluntary sustainability certification for agriculture, forestry, and tourism operations. Directly comparable to WHC as a paid, third-party audited standard generating recurring certification revenue from corporate land use and supply chain sustainability programs.
• Marine Stewardship Council: Global voluntary certification standard for sustainable fishing and seafood supply chains. Operates the same third-party-audited, paid-certification, membership-based business model as WHC Certification, but applied to marine ecosystems rather than terrestrial biodiversity.
• Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil: Multi-stakeholder voluntary certification standard for sustainable palm oil production. Highly comparable to WHC: paid certification, third-party auditing, corporate membership model, and a flagship standard that corporate landholders adopt to demonstrate sustainability commitments.
• Better Cotton Initiative: Largest voluntary sustainability standard for cotton production, with a membership-driven, certification-fee business model similar to WHC. Targets corporate supply chain sustainability programs and offers a comparable value proposition around third-party verified responsible land management.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): Operates a voluntary corporate disclosure and scoring system for climate, water, and forests that functions similarly to WHC Certification — companies submit data, receive a third-party-validated score, and use it for ESG reporting. Increasingly overlapping with biodiversity disclosure where WHC competes.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: One of the world's largest environmental conservation nonprofits with significant corporate partnership programs. Overlaps with WHC's mission of corporate land stewardship and biodiversity conservation, but operates at a vastly larger scale and broader portfolio beyond certification.
• World Wildlife Fund: Global conservation organization with corporate membership, partnerships, and certification-adjacent programs. Comparable mission around species and habitat protection but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope than WHC.
• Ducks Unlimited: Major U.S. wildlife and habitat conservation nonprofit with corporate partnership programs and habitat certification-adjacent initiatives. Overlaps with WHC's habitat and corporate-land-stewardship focus but is significantly larger and more regionally focused on wetlands.

Emerging players

• Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures: New (2021-2023) global disclosure framework for nature-related corporate risk. An emerging framework that could either complement WHC Certification as an implementation standard or compete with it as a free alternative, representing both opportunity and threat to WHC's voluntary certification model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wildlifehc
• Xx.com/WildlifeHC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wildlife Habitat Council