Woodland Carbon Code
The Woodland Carbon Code is the quality assurance standard for woodland carbon projects in the UK. It empowers landowners, organisations and businesses to address climate change by creating and supporting woodland projects.
The code sets out requirements for voluntary woodland creation projects which tackle climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Woodland carbon projects offer a revenue stream for landowners and farmers and a way for companies to support woodland creation and compensate for unavoidable emissions. Projects also provide a range of other environmental, social and economic benefits.
By bringing landowners, companies and communities together to support woodland creation, the Woodland Carbon Code makes a vital contribution to the environment and to UK greenhouse gas targets.
What is the Woodland Carbon Code?
The Woodland Carbon Code is the quality assurance standard for UK woodland creation projects which address climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Backed by government, the forest industry and carbon market experts, it sets out principles and requirements for developing high quality woodland carbon projects. Informed by the latest research, the Woodland Carbon Code is internationally recognised for high standards of sustainable forest and carbon management and endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA).
The UK Land Carbon Registry stores and displays data about Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code projects as well as the ownership and use of carbon units. Woodland Carbon Code projects are independently validated and verified by organisations which are accredited to IS17029 by the UK Accreditation Service.
The Woodland Carbon Code is delivered by Scottish Forestry on behalf of the governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was launched in 2011 and was managed up till 2019 by the Forestry Commission.
What are the benefits of the Woodland Carbon Code?
- Empowers landowners, organisations and businesses to address climate change by creating and supporting woodland creation projects across the UK.
- Generates high integrity carbon credits that make permanent and additional contributions to greenhouse gas removals while improving nature and wellbeing.
- Provides independently verified carbon units which landowners can use to generate income, and organisations and companies can buy to compensate for their unavoidable emissions.
- Offers a new revenue stream for farmers who want to sell carbon credits or a way for farms to reduce their own carbon footprint.
- Provides a blueprint for developing a nature-based market, including the processes, organisations and infrastructure that support effective operations.
- Quantifies new woodland contribution to UK greenhouse gas reduction targets with confidence
- Woodland creation projects often qualify for incentives and grants. The code can be compatible with grant funding.
- Some Woodland Carbon Code projects contribute to UK timber production, providing a sustainable construction material which continues to lock up carbon throughout the life of a building.
- The creation of new woodland can also provide a range of social and environmental benefits which include:
- Local employment and educational opportunities
- Community engagement and volunteering
- Habitat creation and biodiversity gain
- Shelter for livestock
- Flood risk reduction and noise abatement
- Improvements in air and water quality, and human health
How is carbon accounted for in Woodland Carbon Code projects?
The Woodland Carbon Code covers:
- Greenhouse gases absorbed or emitted by new woodlands which are created by planting, natural regeneration or direct seeding. This includes different management styles, from minimum intervention to regular clearfelling.
- Emissions caused in the creation of the woodlands.
- Emissions caused by the project outside the woodland boundary.
It does not cover:
- Existing woodlands.
- Carbon stored in forest products.
- Carbon saved by using wood products or fuels instead of those with a higher carbon footprint.
What is a Woodland Carbon Unit?
The Woodland Carbon Code provides carbon units that quantify the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent removed from the atmosphere by growing trees.
The Woodland Carbon Code offers two types of units:
- Woodland Carbon Unit – Represents a tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent which has been removed from the atmosphere by a Woodland Carbon Code project. It has been independently verified and is guaranteed. Companies can use Woodland Carbon Units to report against UK-based emissions or to make claims about their net zero journey.
- Pending Issuance Unit – A promise to deliver a Woodland Carbon Unit in the future based on an independent validation of predicted carbon removal. Pending Issuance Units help companies to plan for compensating future UK-based emissions.
How is carbon measured for Woodland Carbon Code projects?
The Woodland Carbon Code website details how to calculate onsite carbon stock before starting a woodland creation project to create a robust baseline scenario which accounts for the following carbon pools: tree biomass, litter and deadwood, non-tree biomass and soil.
A carbon calculation spreadsheet is available to:
- Predict changes in carbon stocks following the creation of woodland over the project duration
- Calculate net carbon sequestration; the total amount of carbon removed by the project over a particular time period that can be converted into carbon units.
For information on how carbon is measured more generally in UK woodlands and forests, visit our measuring forest carbon page.
Which carbon route is right for you?
The Forestry Commission and Woodland Carbon Code have created a useful decision tree to help woodland owners in England navigate their woodland creation options and select the most appropriate carbon route.
You can also read case studies of projects across the UK which have been verified by the Woodland Carbon Code and find out why landowners chose to get involved.
To find out more, visit the Woodland Carbon Code website.
Further Resources
Carbon country guidance
Woodland Water Code pilot
The development of a new Woodland Water Code by Forest Research is underway to encourage private investment in woodland creation and provide a new type of crediting mechanism with ‘woodland water units’ for three key ecosystem benefits woodlands provide: water quality, flood alleviation and water shading. The project is working closely with the Woodland Carbon Code and has the potential to combine water, carbon and other co-benefits from woodland creation.
Acknowledgements
This page has been developed in conjunction with the Woodland Carbon Code team at Scottish Forestry.