A platform makes it easier for farmers to sell carbon credits

A new platform helps farmers who have planted woodland to earn additional income from selling carbon credits

Spotted: The British government has launched a wide variety of initiatives aimed at tripling tree planting rates by the end of the current parliament. Grants and other funding are available to help landowners and land managers create native woodland or restore plantations on ancient woodland. All of this means that, for both livestock and arable farmers, tree planting now offers a potential source of new income for the less productive parts of their farm. In response, forestry provider Tilhill has launched a woodland carbon division.

The division, called CarbonStore, was developed in partnership with Maelor Forest Nurseries, which supplies native-grown saplings. CarbonStore provides an ‘open and transparent’ platform that allows landowners to buy and sell Carbon Credits in the form of Woodland Carbon Units. CarbonStore also undertakes all the administrative work associated with registering, validating, and verifying forestry and peatland schemes under the Woodland Carbon Code.

Woodland Carbon Units allow landowners to earn income from their woodlands and peatlands by selling the carbon credits earned according to the amount of carbon sequestered. For example, assuming each carbon credit (equivalent to one tonne of sequestered carbon) is worth £20, and 350 tonnes of carbon is sequestered per hectare, a woodland could generate £7,000 per hectare.

Tilhill explains that their service also helps “build a positive, constructive partnership” between buyers and sellers of carbon credits. The company adds that, “CarbonStore understands properly the complexities of the Woodland and Peatland Carbon Codes. This allows us to reduce the costs of certification and enables us to deliver an efficient, competent, and cost-effective service when registering, validating and verifying your woodland and peatland projects.”

Large-scale tree planting is an effective method for sequestering carbon. Forests are not only crucial for stabilising the world’s climate – they also contribute to the livelihood of over 1.6 billion peoples. Springwise has seen a number of innovations that aim to make forestry projects ‘smarter’. These include the use of ‘smart forest’ technology to improve forest management and monitoring, and a startup that is creating a digital marketplace for forests.