Scottish rewilding programme looks to help SMEs offset carbon footprint

Small and medium-sized businesses are being offered the chance to purchase “affordable” woodland as part of their efforts to offset carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

Holiday rentals business ClearWater Retreats has launched the offering following the acquisition of disused farm land in Stirlingshire, which the company plans to transform into an “eco-friendly, net zero rural retreat”.

Through the ClearWater reforestation and rewilding programme, some 50 acres of non-arable land on the site will also be replanted with trees and divided into small holdings which companies can purchase as a means of offsetting carbon emissions.

The firm said wildflower meadows and ponds will also be created to attract bees, insects and other indigenous forms of wildlife.

Mains of Bucklyvie Farm, Stirlingshire: the first site for the ClearWater reforestation and rewilding programme.

The new initiative is aligned to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimate that a fifth of agricultural land will need to be released before 2050 to support emissions reduction and carbon sequestering objectives.

Through the company’s partnership with Scottish Woodlands, carbon capture on the site will be independently registered, validated and verified under the UK Woodland Carbon Code.

ClearWater has also announced it will further expand the reforestation and rewilding programme across its property portfolio, with plans to acquire up to 5,000 acres on suitable residential farm sites that have ceased productive farming, across the UK, over the next three years.

Chief executive Andrew Montague said: “Our new programme will return abandoned, non-arable farmland to its natural habitat. By parcelling this into smaller, affordable packages we are creating an ideal opportunity for SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] to make a tangible contribution to net zero.

“Our alignment with IPCC goals to return once intensively farmed lands back to native woodland is key in addressing ‘greenwashing’ concerns as it reassures purchasers that the carbon offset from their holding is making a difference exactly where it is needed.

“Following the launch in Scotland, we aim to significantly develop our reforestation and rewilding programme across the UK as we expand our property portfolio. This will support the requirements of small businesses across the UK as they increasingly look to adopt impactful green measures and offset their environmental impact.”

The firm said that buyers would also be granted legal ownership and access to their holdings under a protective deed of conditions, that effectively enshrines the land as forestry in perpetuity and safeguards it from any future commercial development whatsoever.

ADP Architecture, an employee-owned practice founded more than 50 years ago, is among the first SMEs to acquire one of the new holdings.

Stephen Miles, ADP’s managing director, said: “Our engagement in the ClearWater reforestation and rewilding programme is part of ADP’s ambition to implement meaningful action to contribute towards net zero.

“We were struck by this innovative carbon offsetting programme and its credentials, which aligned with our wider framework of establishing a tangible ESG [environmental, social and governance] strategy across our business. It reflects an acknowledgement of the need to address carbon emissions across the UK construction sector.”

The Woodland Carbon Code is the quality assurance standard for woodland creation projects in the UK.

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