Renee Smits

Reforestation Expert | Founder of Restore the Legacy & Rainforest Rebel

As a reforestation expert with over 45 years of family legacy in ecosystem restoration, she turns complex climate challenges into tropical insights that are clear, practical and ready to apply. Renee connects policy to biodiversity, business to nature, and her audience to real solutions that stick.

Rating

Employability:: Chairperson of the day, Keynote speaker, Workshop
Languages:: Dutch, English
Categories:: Arts Culture & Lifestyle

Climate Change

Lifestyle

Marketing & Sales

Media

Nature

Storytelling

Sustainability & Environment

Sustainable Building

Book Renee Smits

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30 years matching events with the right speakers
The most experienced team of consultants
50,000+ satisfied clients worldwide

About Renee Smits

Renee Smits is an international speaker known for her unique blend of field experience, system thinking, and a clear, accessible style. She translates complex sustainability challenges into tangible insights and profitable, nature-based solutions with a strong focus on tropical reforestation, biodiversity, and CSRD implementation.

Raised in a globally respected family of environmental scientists and reforestation pioneers, she now leads active reforestation projects in Indonesia. Her work is grounded in real ecosystems, not just theory, and that’s exactly what she brings to the stage.

With 16 years in corporate sustainability banking, Renee bridges the gap between ecological impact and business value. Her ability to align CSRD with real-world strategy stems from deep industry insight and firsthand knowledge of what sustainable transformation looks like on both balance sheets and forest floors.

She has spoken at COP28, the European Parliament, City Expo Dubai, the Forestry Forum, the ESG Show, and numerous leading financial and academic platforms,
taking the stage at some of the world’s most influential gatherings on sustainability and policy.

Bringing CSRD to the canopy — with roots, not just reports.

Renee doesn’t just talk about change — she grows it.

Topics

1. What does sustainability really mean?

No buzzwords, just practical insights.
2. How do you reforest a rainforest?

How do you practically restore a tropical rainforest?
3. CSRD & ESG

Don’t build a model around regulations — build it from ecology.
4. Growing up in a reforestation family.

50 years of lessons and stories.
5. Storytelling that makes sustainability tangible and engaging.

References

Your talks at COP28 caught many people’s attention!

Rated 4.2 out of 5 stars.

Referentie van: Prof J. Stephen Lansing
Santa Fe Institute
As a speaker she is excellent and her passion shines through as she talks about the topics that are clearly important to her.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Referentie van: Michael Baxter
The ESG Show