COP27: from target setting to driving delivery for business

Barratt Developments was the first major housebuilder to set science-based carbon reduction targets and commit to building zero carbon homes at scale from 2030.

This required the creation of a Building Sustainably framework and robust roadmap, supported by innovative research projects. This includes the Zed House, the first zero carbon concept home built by a major housebuilder that goes substantially beyond the Future Homes Standard.

Built on University of Salford’s main campus, the home will monitor the most modern sustainable housing technology such as an air source heat pump, infrared panels, plaster that eliminates pollutants, a fridge that keeps food fresh for longer, heated skirting boards, air-powered showers, electric vehicle charging, solar panels and battery storage. Importantly, the home will be lived in to better understand the customer’s experience of zero carbon, nature-friendly living.

The Zed House is part-funded by government and developed in partnership with over 40 organisations from across the housebuilding, sustainability and technology sectors, helping to broaden knowledge with lessons learnt shared across the industry.

Building on the success of the Zed House, Barratt is now working with Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland on eHome2, a low carbon home built inside Energy House 2.0 at the University of Salford. This £16m laboratory, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, contains environmental chambers where a range of weather conditions can be recreated, with temperatures ranging between -20˚C to +40˚C, as well as simulating wind, rain, snow and solar radiation. As well as low carbon products and techniques, Energy House 2.0 enables us to test our homes under the weather conditions we may see in the future.

What has made these projects successful has been a clear objective from the start, a connected roadmap through to net zero and working with suppliers, academics and government to drive industry-wide change.

BT Group has been a leader on climate action for 30 years and in 2021 the company brought forward its net zero target by 15 years to March 2031 for its own emissions, and March 2041 for its supply chain and customer emissions.

Looking at BT Group’s end-to-end carbon emissions, only six percent come from its own operations. 70% come from its upstream supply chain and 23% from customers using its products and services.

Working with suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions is therefore key to reach net zero and reduce scope 3 emissions. The company has a number of initiatives to drive down supply chain emissions. Since COP26 we have:

• Seen results already from our pioneering climate clause that commits key suppliers to make measurable carbon savings during the life of their contract with us has seen some results. Ten active BT Group and Openreach suppliers have signed up to the clause so far. Network supplier MJ Quinn, for example, has cut 378 tonnes of CO2e (12% of its total carbon footprint) in the first year alone.
• Asked all new contracts worth over £25m to have a net zero science-based target in place or commit to having one within six months.
• Continued to ask our suppliers to disclose to CDP – helping build a more transparent supply chain and providing a repeatable annual process to collect data and understand what carbon reductions have been made. In 2020, 310 suppliers did so, up from 304 the previous year. In 2021/22, we asked 405 suppliers to disclose to CDP and 77% responded. Of these, 59% were reporting their own operational carbon emissions, 76% have set future carbon reduction targets, and 73% engage with their own suppliers on climate.
• Continued to work with the 1.5 Supply Chain Leaders initiative to provide more guidance on encouraging suppliers to sign up to 1.5 degree science based targets and to promote the SME climate hub to engage with smaller businesses.

The company continues to make good progress and 2020/21 our supply chain emissions cut was 19% which increased to 28% for 2021/22.

Our purpose is to ‘help Britain achieve Net Zero’ and our goal is to be a Net Zero company by 2050. EDF Group aims to reduce its direct and indirect emissions by 50% (versus 2017) and its scope 3 emissions by 28% (versus 2019) by 2030. Since COP26, we have made significant progress to lead the transition to a decarbonised energy system and in September 2022 we released our Sustainable Business Update: www.edfenergy.com/sustainability.

We’re the UK’s biggest generator of zero-carbon electricity and are building further new renewable and nuclear generation to provide zero-carbon power to meet Britain’s needs. We plan to develop over 15GW of zero carbon electricity by 2035 and will reduce the carbon intensity at the point of generation to 0gCO2e/MWh during 2023. Carbon intensity at the point of generation already decreased by nearly 30% between 2020 and 2021. We also aim to achieve Net Zero by 2050 across our operations and have a fully electric light vehicle fleet by 2030. Between 2020 and 2021, electric vehicles in our light vehicle fleet increased by 30%, and our scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 40%.

Support for consumers:

• We’re also helping our customers to decarbonise by offering a range of solutions such as heat pumps, electric vehicle (EV) charging and solar panels. By 2030, we aim to help customers avoid 5MtCO2e per annum through such solutions.
• Our sector is facing many challenges due to the rise in wholesale energy costs and our priority remains supporting our most vulnerable customers. In 2022 we doubled our financial support to £10m and provided an extra £20m in funding to help our customers insulate their homes and further cut bills.
• In 2019 we acquired Pivot Power, an energy superhub provider; and in 2020 we became a majority stakeholder in Pod Point, a leading UK electric vehicle charging solution provider. The number of Pod Point charge points passed the milestone of 175,000 points installed at end June 2022.
• This year we entered into a strategic partnership with CB Heating to advance our heat pump offering and we are now working with Effective Home, the 2^nd biggest installer of solar panels in the UK, to install high quality solar panels and batteries for our customers.

Now, more than ever, Britain’s businesses need affordable, secure, low carbon electricity from renewables and nuclear. At EDF, we are already working with other businesses to be part of the solution. For example, the new nuclear power station we’re building at Hinkley Point in Somerset will rely on 3,800 UK-based suppliers throughout its construction. Only by businesses working together can we reach our goal of helping Britain achieve net zero.

We’re on a mission to create zero-emission glass as part of our journey towards a sustainable future. Whilst our 360 offering sets us apart with regards to minimising our carbon impact, there’s no denying that glass production is a carbon-intensive process. In April 2022 our Science-Based Targets were validated, with our parent company, Vidrala, committing to the 1.5 °C targets, the most ambitious of their kind.

We value innovation, and we know that to achieve our goals, we must challenge the norm. 2021 saw us create the world’s most sustainable bottles, using 100% recycled glass and powering our furnaces with biofuel. In Derrylin, we had already reengineered our last remaining heavy fuel oil furnace to run on gas, but we knew we could take this even further. Plans have begun for a hydrogen powered furnace at our Elton site, and an increase in the use of anaerobic digestion in Derrylin to further decarbonise our processes. We’re spearheading a responsible recycling campaign across Northern Ireland to keep recycling local, which in turn will allow us to increase the amount of cullet used in our bottles. The higher the cullet, the lower the carbon impact.

Whilst the UK energy crisis has caused our energy costs to spiral, it has further proved the need to change our fuel options. This decision has led to us developing a new partnership with a local university to collaborate on energy decarbonisation projects.

It’s important that businesses don’t get carbon-tunnel-vision. Becoming truly sustainability takes so much more than focusing simply on carbon emissions. Use resources like the Sustainable Development Goals to help shape your focuses, such as EDI initiatives and community outreach. Share best practice and network within your industry. We can’t be insular when it comes to climate change. We must act collectively.

Northumbrian Water is on course to realise an ambitious goal of achieving Net Zero in 2027.

Using a multi-strand approach to green energy and through the adoption of a wide range of innovative practices, the company has seen carbon emissions fall more than 90% since 2008 when they stood at 303,000 tonnes.

This has now fallen to 22,000 tonnes, as reported in the company’s Emission Possible report.

Northumbrian Water’s work to achieve carbon reductions has included:

• Being the first and still the only water company to use 100% of its sewage sludge to create energy at its Green Power Stations on Tyneside and Teesside, all of which is injected into the gas grid as renewable gas.
• Using a first of its kind ten-year deal to source around 30% of its electricity demand from the Race Bank offshore wind farm.
• Powering all 1,886 of its sites using renewable electricity, through which the company achieves 77,000 tonnes of CO2 savings each year - over 350 times the weight of the Angel of the North.
• Increased investment in 2022 in solar power generation on its sites, including a new 3,600 panel array at its Lumley Water Treatment Works in County Durham, with a further 4 sites either complete or close to being commissioned.

In addition, in the last five years, Northumbrian Water has delivered, with its partners, almost £20m of catchment and nature based solutions linked to drainage improvements and its wastewater network, delivering benefits for carbon, biodiversity, water quality and recreational amenity.

Northumbrian Water is also helping customers reduce their carbon emissions, with 25% of the typical energy bill going towards heating water for baths, showers, and washing up using hot taps. The company’s water efficiency programme is tackling the top 5% of water users among its customer base, delivering more than 1,100 customer home visits to explore personal usage and help reduce their consumption.

Further activity to support the net zero goal includes its procurement approach of spending 60p for every £1 with suppliers based in its own operating regions.

The company, which also has a target of zero avoidable waste by 2025, took its Net Zero message global when Chief Executive, Heidi Mottram, took to the stage during the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action’s “Climate Leadership in Action” event at COP26.

The Emission Possible report can be read here: Emission Possible (nwg.co.uk)

This year, our parent company Kingfisher set a new target to reach net zero for our operations (scope 1 and 2) by the end of 2040. Installing air source heat pumps (ASHPs) in Screwfix stores is a key initiative enabling the delivery of this target.

Driven by the company’s sustainability ambitions, Screwfix begun replacing fossil fuel heating with ASHPs in 2018. As of September 2022, 358 stores have an ASHP installed (up from just over 100 in April 2021). The carbon reduction benefit of switching to electric is enabled through Screwfix also sourcing 95% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources.

The retrofit programme, and installation in new stores, is one of the most ambitious programs the Property Team has delivered. It requires negotiation with building landlords, securing the equipment and contractors to install ASHPs in a volatile global market and collaboration with colleagues in stores. When the limitations in supply became a challenge, the team worked to secure bulk deliveries to ensure the installation rate could be delivered.

“By 2025, we aim to have low-carbon technology warming the vast majority of Screwfix stores, saving up to 7,500 tonnes of carbon every year.” Olivia Green, Sustainability Manager, Screwfix.

“It’s our best opportunity to reduce carbon across our expanding estate. It’s the responsible approach for our business and will make a real difference towards our future.” Gary Worthington, National Property Development Manager, Screwfix

This programme has contributed to Kingfisher’s reduction of scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 24.5% since 2016/17, meaning the group is on track to our 2025 target. This is our first step towards achieving net zero by 2040/41.

Our advice to businesses is to consider how you can use business growth to drive emissions reductions by doing things greener and more efficiently.

In October 2021 Whitbread committed to SBTi for our net zero carbon target by 2040 (scope 1 & 2), and to reduce our Scope 3 emissions by 64% by 2050 (50% by 2035). Since that time, we have applied for full SBTi accreditation and hope to complete this process by the end of 2022. We have developed our Net Zero Transition Plan, setting out the principles, plans, and projects to reach our target, and linked this to our wider Force for Good sustainability programme and overall business strategy. The full Transition Plan will be published in early 2023.

Whitbread’s unique vertical business strategy allows us to control our rate of change and trial practical solutions for our transition to net zero. We had already taken steps to reduce our emissions, for example installing solar PV across 20% of our estate and using renewable electricity across our UK owned and operated sites. We are now focusing on more challenging areas, including an ambitious ‘retrofit to net zero’ strategy, starting with an in-depth review of how we transition our existing estate to net zero technologies. We are also building the UK’s first gasless hotel using the latest heat pump technology with enhanced energy data capture solutions.

We have continued the replacement of appliances to more energy efficient versions across the estate, for example our new grills have driven down gas use by 50% since the project began in 2018, and we continue to trial new technologies, such as adding energy saving additives to boilers across our restaurant sites to increase efficiency.

A major challenge is ensuring we deploy the right solutions at the right time. Keeping pace with innovation in heating and cooling technologies is key, especially when dealing with an expansive UK estate comprised of varying building types. The recent global energy crisis has highlighted the importance of rolling out energy efficiency measures across our estate at pace.

Overall, our aim is to reduce energy demand as much as possible, a key part of this is educating and empowering our team members. We are working to upskill our teams to help them to reduce energy use. We also incentivise carbon reduction at a site level through our business scorecard, and at Executive Committee level through our remuneration policy. We know that working with our teams, industry partners and our customers is key to reaching net zero. One piece of advice we would give other businesses is to ensure all stakeholders are kept up to date on progress. In such a rapidly changing environment, collaboration is crucial for analysing the impact of all business decisions on action towards net zero

BSI is funding, hosting and convening a collaboration of leading international organisations looking to change the way that the world addresses net zero. At COP 26, we proposed to create a new global standard through Our 2050 World, a collaboration between ISO, the UN Race to Zero and the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub, to support a common understanding of net zero for policy makers at national, state, municipal and corporate level.

We are pleased to have successfully convened an international workshop agreement on the Net Zero Guidelines, which will be launched at COP27. This document offers the world a single core reference text for net zero, harmonising understanding across different initiatives and directing users to existing best practice.

Within the international standards community, BSI was instrumental in the creation of the London Declaration, ISO’s climate commitment. This commitment will bring all new and existing standards in line with climate science, as well as increase the involvement of civil society and those most vulnerable to climate change in the standards development process.

In addition, research is underway to quantify the climate impact of standards, as well as identify what additional standards need to be created to enhance robust climate action. At the national level, an action plan has been drafted, and work is underway to utilise BSI’s policy development networks to enhance the role of civil society in standards development.

This has positioned the international standards system more centrally in ongoing climate policy and governance forums as a result, and increased recognition that standards have a prominent role to play in building a more coherent, regulated governance structure for achieving net zero globally. In a context where over 90% of the global economy is covered by a net zero pledge, the market must move towards a greater emphasis on developing high-integrity action plans and providing regular, public progress updates rather than prioritising the setting of high-profile net zero targets. Businesses can lead the way in raising the bar for climate accountability to get the world back on track for reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Glenmorangie Company has been making whisky for hundreds of years at both its Glenmorangie and Ardbeg distilleries and is dedicated to doing so for another 200 years and beyond.

To achieve this, the firm is committed to using the most efficient and environmentally friendly processes, to achieve net zero by 2040, and to reduce two-thirds of its CO2 emissions per bottle by 2030.

In 2019 the business undertook a comprehensive audit of its operations to understand the Company’s environmental impact. This study will be repeated regularly to monitor progress with the latest evaluation due this year.

In the meantime, Glenmorangie is developing and implementing a comprehensive plan to achieve its sustainability goals. Since COP26, Glenmorangie has started a green expansion plan at its Alba bottling plant in Livingston. This includes the installation of a solar array at the site, which will reduce its energy consumption by thirty per cent and installing an electric car charging point for the firm’s fleet of electric vehicles.

A further source of Glenmorangie’s commitment to sustainability is its partnership with the Solar Impulse Foundation (SIF) which was launched during COP26. The partnership aims to explore innovative energy reduction methods. Since COP26 Glenmorangie and SIF have identified several initiatives which are currently being considered.

Glenmorangie is, in collaboration with other Distillers, exploring installing an anaerobic digestion plant on Islay which could support the whole island. This follows on from the installation of an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Glenmorangie. This facility was installed with the support of Scottish Enterprise, and currently purifies 98% of the wastewater created during distillation. The resulting biogas is used to create steam which helps power the Distillery, cutting its use of fossil fuels by 15%.

Additionally, Glenmorangie’s long-standing DEEP initiative with Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Conservation Society has continued to progress. The project restores endangered native oysters to the Dornoch Firth where they became extinct a century ago. Their presence cleans the water in the Dornoch Firth while acting as a carbon store. To date, 40,000 oysters have been introduced with a goal of achieving 200,000 oysters by 2024 and 4 million within 5 years.

Glenmorangie is also working closely with all suppliers to minimise waste and is constantly looking for new ways to make its packaging more sustainable.

12 months since COP26 we have accelerated our progress in this area and towards our aim of being recognised as a leading responsible business.

Irwin Mitchell welcomed a new Head of Responsible Business and Environmental and Sustainability Manager to join our existing Responsible Business and Diversity and Inclusion experts. We have published a new Environmental strategy, committed to Science Based Targets and outlined our transition plans to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Since COP 26 we became a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and have joined the Business Ambition for 1.5 campaign. We believe that our external partnerships are vital to challenge us, support our stakeholders in engaging with this topic and provide the due diligence behind our communications on the subject.

Our governance structure has been strengthened in order to provide full and clear accountability for ESG issues up to Board level, via our Responsible Business Committee (RBC). We also set up a Group Environmental Sustainability Forum made up of strategic leads accountable for the main elements of our environmental strategy, representatives of our colleague sustainability network IM Green and our suppliers.

We are very clear on our priorities for the transition to Net Zero and realise that we will continue to face challenge, particularly due to the energy crisis and broader socio-economic issues facing society. This backdrop makes, for example, the switch to renewable energy for offices, electrification of colleague vehicles or resilience of our supply chain more difficult.

With Responsible Business being so central to Irwin Mitchell’s core purpose, our advice would be to thread the environmental and social elements of sustainability together to derive the most value.

The connection between food waste and carbon emissions is not being recognised. At Sodexo, we are committed to reducing our food waste by 50% by 2025 and cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% across all scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2045. Our roadmap to Net Zero looks at innovative ways we can reduce, rather than offset, our carbon emissions. We are incredibly proud to have our near and long-term targets validated by the SBTi’s rigorous process, the first food services company to do so.

Following a COP26 that did not reflect on the tangible impact of food waste, we launched our Appetite for Action report, which called on Government to commission a dedicated strategy for tackling food waste. At that time, we recommended that mandatory food waste reporting form part of this strategy and were especially pleased to see Defra issue a consultation on food waste reporting for large businesses.

Over the last six months, food buyers in the UK’s biggest organisations have reported a 60% increase in food waste due to pressure on supply chains. Because we know that monitoring and management drive change, we responded by accelerating our deployment of WasteWatch (Our technology for enabling kitchen teams to find efficiencies and make changes to operating procedures, all backed up by real-time data).

We also continue to build resilience in our food supply chain. Partnering with SMEs, who account for three-quarters of our supply network and 44% of our spend, allows us to create shorter supply chains, promote sustainable agriculture practices, and work with organisations that share our environmental and social values.

We’re keeping an eye on the long game and don’t plan on taking a backseat to our

sustainability requirements. Net Zero must be a priority for businesses because climate change remains our most significant crisis.

COP26 was an opportunity for leaders, organisations and innovators to come together to accelerate the vital action needed to combat climate change.

Since then, Vodafone UK has introduced innovative initiatives and technology to drive progress toward its climate goals – and it’s starting to pay off. Last year, we reduced our operational carbon emissions by 77% vs (2019), which equates to 71,675 tonnes CO2.

To deliver our ambitious decarbonisation plan, we’ve introduced a range of energy measures with our facilities partners, Mitie that saved 69 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy across our buildings, data centres and network sites in 2021/2022, with a total saving of 216 gigawatt hours (GWh) over 5 years.

We’ve continued to invest in renewables: our UK business is powered on 100% renewable electricity and in May 2022, we signed a 10-year deal for three new UK solar farms securing clean energy and bringing more renewable power to the UK energy grid. Soon after in June, we switched on UK’s first live ‘self-powering’ mobile phone mast powered by wind and solar.

Beyond our own business, we’re scaling innovative Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and digital tech that help create a more energy efficient, cleaner, and productive society. Globally, our Internet of Things (IoT) solutions saved around 22.7 million tonnes of CO2e since 2020.

We also see a big opportunity to use technology to conserve nature. Our IoT pilot with Forest Research and Defra is measuring how effective trees are at absorbing carbon dioxide. A key finding was that extreme heat significantly affected tree growth. As Principal Partner of COP27, we look forward to the opportunity to continue accelerating innovative digital technology to address climate change.

In 2020 Kingfisher set out a new agenda – to become ‘Forest Positive’ by 2025. The partnership we co-founded with the Rainforest Alliance is key to us delivering on this commitment. Forest Allies is a community of practice bringing together market actors, civil society and forest communities around reforestation and the responsible management of tropical forests. The initiative enables us to protect and restore critical forest landscapes in key tropical sourcing regions and drive five sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Through Forest Allies we are investing in six projects that will restore ecosystems across over 300,000 hectares and benefit the livelihoods of over 7,500 local people. The programme aims to keep forests standing by empowering forest communities to build local economies based on sustainable forest use. We can share the following updates from this relatively new initiative:

Cameroon

• Preventing further deforestation and strengthening community rights across 55,000 hectares
• Planting new trees for timber, fruit and cocoa production
• Working to unlock the potential for communities to utilise carbon stored in restored forests and sell these as carbon credits

Indonesia

• Supporting Indonesian forestry cooperatives achieve FSC certification and identify potential markets for their wood products.
• Training and mentoring to help adaptation to climate change

My advice to companies looking to support forest restoration and management outside of direct supply chains would be to explore how you can best collaborate with your peer group, along with expert partners and the communities on the ground. Learn here how we have done this through Forest Allies.

In October 2021, just days before COP26, we launched an ambitious ESG (environmental, social, and governance) strategy, outlining our target of hitting net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

On the eve of COP27, we want to highlight the progress we’ve made in terms of transport. We’re the UK’s biggest dedicated parcel delivery company, delivering c700million parcels annually. We’ve always been a responsible carrier, but in the last 12 months, we’ve strengthened our efforts to be a more sustainable and ethical business while actively supporting retailers on their own sustainability journeys.

Exploration of alternative fuels means we have options for all stages of the delivery process. We use bio-CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles for the first mile, and in 2021/2022 we increased our total number of Bio-CNG tractor units to 160, 50% of our core tractor fleet. Each unit reduces CO2 emissions by over 80% compared to a diesel equivalent. For final mile, we invested in 168 electric vans to service our out-of-home ParcelShops. This is a key focus, as it’s the most carbon-efficient way for a customer to send, receive or return a parcel, with a CO2 reduction of up to 90%.

We’re also trialling electric bikes for final-mile deliveries, and in May we partnered with zero-emission delivery start-up Zedify, whose mission is to make deliveries more sustainable via cargo bikes and trikes.

For middle mile journeys, we’ve successfully trialled a Green D+ HVO (hydrated vegetable oil) truck. While this fuel isn’t currently widely available, our projections show a 90% reduction in emissions, making it a viable option going forward.

The global energy crisis and unpredictable domestic economy present challenges. But we have the scale and flexibility to adapt quickly and positively, as proven by how we responded to the pandemic when parcel volumes soared to unprecedented levels. One piece of advice we’d give to other businesses for the turbulent times ahead is to remember that ESG done well will be a financial gain, with decreased OpEx and increased revenue. So it should remain essential to your business strategy.

Royal Mail pledges net zero by 2040

Since COP26, Royal Mail has brought forward our net zero target by a decade to 2040. We are committing to near term emissions targets in line with climate science, reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2025/26 and Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030, from a 2020/1 base year.

Our Steps to Zero plan goes even further in transitioning to electric vehicles and reducing emissions by:

• Rolling out more electric vans for final mile deliveries, with a commitment to c.5,000 electric vans and an investment of £12.5m in charging infrastructure in 2022/23.
• Trialling new innovations for zero and reduced-emissions deliveries, including micro electric vehicles and a programme to optimise on-foot deliveries with a van delivering to a central point, serving a number of posties on foot.
• Maximising our use of rail, especially where it can be deployed to reduce domestic air freight. Scheduled to launch in 2023, our new Midlands Hub, which will have the capacity to process over 1 million parcels a day, also has an integrated rail facility.
• Committing to purchasing only 100% renewable electricity across all our locations from 2022, which will bring down our emissions by around 9,000 tonnes of C0₂e each year.

The previous Government’s various transport initiatives in the run-up to COP26 went a considerable way towards helping in the transition to net zero. Road transport remains the most significant source of carbon emissions in the UK. We look to Government to continue to improve charging infrastructure with support for large fleet operators like Royal Mail. Alongside improving charging provision in the UK, Government needs to incentivise the manufacture of electric vehicles within the UK. Continued Government support and certainty are needed to help fleets transition to net zero.

Since COP26, Foresight launched Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company (“FSF” or the “fund”).  FSF was listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”) on 24 November 2021, raising gross proceeds of £130 million. FSF was launched to make a direct contribution in the twin fights against climate change and biodiversity loss, achieved through investment in forestry and afforestation carbon sequestration initiatives - two key themes addressed at COP26. The IPO proceeds alone are expected to enable over 4m tonnes of CO2 sequestration. For investors, forestry offers unique attractions as a truly sustainable asset class.

Notably, the fund became the LSE’s only listed natural capital vehicle and was awarded the LSE Green Economy Mark. This accreditation recognises the companies and funds leading the green revolution.

FSF has raised a total of £175 million to date and developed a sizeable, exciting pipeline. The investments are arranged in a diversified portfolio of 43 properties split, by value, between standing forestry (60%) and afforestation (40%) sites throughout the UK*.  The portfolio is currently 8,966 hectares and since launch, FSF has planted 474,000 trees across its sites, including rare and endangered tree species. This planting is a key development milestone for the fund and will support the UK’s domestic sustainable timber needs. Despite recent market volatility, the carbon credits discourse is gaining momentum, and FSF is well-positioned to be a key contributor in this space.

The fund is making the case for afforestation as an important form of land use. There is both a business and social value case for sustainable forestry. The private sector is assuming a growing role in delivering on climate action and nature recovery. Mobilising finance into natural capital schemes is an opportunity for a mutually beneficial outcome for UK biodiversity and investors.

*As of the 15^th of August 2022