Back in the early 2000's I was lucky enough to work on what was then, an innovative UK tree planting/offset scheme involving a major corporate and a large estate. Contracts to secure tree planting have therefore been around for a while, but with the Net Zero target and the Committee on Climate Change and others recognising that we will inevitably need carbon sinks no matter what we do to reduce carbon emissions, there is a renewed focus on these deals and the opportunities.

To many they might appear simple contracts, but in actual fact there are quite a few things to think about and I was helped at that time by my land use/forestry experts.

Some of the issues to consider are; 

- what control should there be over the species of tree

-what audit and inspection rights are needed for the person/corporate buying the trees. Some like the idea of being able to point their employees to the land in question

-over what period of time will the contract and obligations last- trees take a long time to mature and what does that mean in terms of binding successors in title

- who gets the benefit of any credits and tax breaks

-what standards of maintenance are there e.g. are there targets for tree maturity, thinning etc.

and of course, pricing and making sure of additionality.

If you are an organisation or landowner looking at these type of contracts and would like some guidance contact our Net Zero team via the website.