Carbon sequestration through tree planting can assist an organisation with its own net carbon position, or can provide the scheme owner with carbon credits in the future to trade on the carbon markets. Furthermore, planting woodlands on poor arable land could also provide a reduction in phosphate and nitrate use, which can also become a tradeable asset. 

In order to inset or secure woodland carbon credits (WCC) new areas of woodland need planting. Our forestry and arboriculture team can assist with all stages of the process, from mapping and screening land, feasibility studies, developing detailed planting schemes and carrying out the Environmental Impact Assessment, to applying for grants, commissioning and the supervision of planting operations right up to registering the new planting on the MarkIt registry and arranging for future auditing and verification of the schemes to secure WCC.

By moving land out of agricultural production, land landowners and managers will also be able to tap into the developing demand for nitrate and phosphate offsets to enable development. This may be more lucrative for smaller sites than carbon credit income.

Both the nutrient offset market and woodland carbon credits are long term commitments, with woodland creation being a permanent land use change. Therefore careful consideration and planning should be given to areas of new tree planting.

Grants including the woodland creation planting grant and England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) are available to support woodland creation and some payments can be combined with private sector funding.

How can savills help

• Feasibility studies and mapping of suitable areas to plant
• Project management
• Grant applications and cashflow/budget modelling
• Carbon credit brokerage
• Ongoing site management