Our Services
C A R B O N
What is the Voluntary Carbon Market?
The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is a decentralised private marketplace where companies and individuals can voluntarily purchase carbon credits from landowners to offset their carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions. In doing so, companies and individuals can address their carbon footprint and fund vital work that tackles climate change. Additionally, the rising demand for carbon credits provides landowners with the opportunity to generate an income from their natural capital assets.
Different endorsement bodies exist to evaluate the integrity of carbon credits offered by landowners which provides buyers with assurance that the carbon credits they purchase provide a measurable net carbon benefit and drive real change. To ensure the integrity of carbon credits, carbon sequestration – the process of capturing, securing, and storing CO2 from the atmosphere – must be accurately quantified through various surveys and calculations, and the results transparently reported to both the landowners and buyers.
Writtle Forest specialises in the provision of carbon data for woodlands and other habitats. We offer services that measure carbon sequestration in habitats and can provide detailed planting and management plans to increase the potential for habitats to sequester carbon and generate saleable carbon credits. From concept design and installation to project completion, we can measure, record, and monitor carbon project data.
Our services in carbon
Baseline carbon stock assessment
A baseline carbon stock assessment is essential for (1) ascertaining the potential for a piece of land/project to generate saleable carbon credits, and (2) to be able to monitor the project, including the amount of carbon dioxide that is sequestrated by the project. Writtle Forest Consultancy uses a combination of field survey methods and remote sensing technology, such as drone footage and satellite imagery, to quantify existing carbon stocks in trees, forests, and other natural ecosystems.
Please note that a baseline carbon stock assessment does not currently assess carbon stock in soils. For information on the soil carbon assessment services we provide, please see below.
Potential carbon stock assessment
One carbon credit is equal to one metric tonne of CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere (or prevented from entering it altogether). To calculate the number of saleable carbon credits that can be generated by a project, the amount of CO2 that could be removed from the atmosphere by planting and/or habitat improvements must be calculated. Our team can evaluate the proposed planting and/or habitat improvements and use models to estimate the amount of carbon sequestration that will take place, and, subsequently, the number of saleable carbon credits.
Soil carbon stock assessment
Due to the symbiotic relationships between trees, mycorrhiza, and soils, plant roots can sequester carbon and store it in soils at a higher rate than above-ground biomass. Consequently, over time, below-ground biomass and soils have the potential to sequester more carbon than above-ground biomass. Separate from the other carbon stock assessments, Writtle Forest offer assessments of baseline and potential soil carbon stocks.
Habitat planting and management plans
Writtle Forest offer planting and management plans that increase the capability of land to sequester carbon and generate saleable carbon credits. The techniques we recommend in the plans include (but are not limited to) reforestation/afforestation, agroforestry, and soil improvements/management, such as the inclusion of ameliorants (e.g. biochar).
Industry standards - Our methodologies
Verifying all carbon projects
Verra - Verified Carbon Standard
Verra, a global greenhouse gas crediting programme, runs the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) programme – the world’s most widely used voluntary carbon credit programme. They provide a framework and methodology for evaluating carbon projects so that the carbon credits produced by projects can be verified, traded, and financed. We conduct our carbon stock assessments using the framework and methodology provided by Verra so that projects can be verified by Verra.
Woodland creation
Woodland Carbon Code certification
The Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) is the UK’s voluntary standard for certifying projects involving woodland creation and restoration for carbon sequestration. It provides a framework to quantify, monitor, and verify the carbon benefits of planting and/or regenerating woodland, and ensures the integrity of carbon credits. We conduct our carbon stock assessments of woodland carbon projects using the WCC.
Urban tree stock
i-Tree and Ecosystem services evaluation
i-Tree is an open-source software that can be used to quantify urban tree stock and forest structure and the environmental and economic benefits that trees provide (such as the removal of pollution, hydrological effects on the environment, and energy effects on buildings). This system was released in 2006 through the US Forestry department and has been evolving ever since then. We use this software to estimate and value carbon sequestration and storage, and to assess ecosystem services.
Existing tree stock and woodlands
Writtle Forest uses a combination of the above methodologies to assess both above- and below-ground carbon stocks within existing tree stock and woodlands.
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