The Woodland Carbon Code scheme for buyers and landowners
Find information about the scheme, how companies can use woodland carbon units and how landowners can take part.
The Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) is the UK’s voluntary carbon standard for woodland creation projects. It’s managed by Scottish Forestry on behalf of the Forestry Commission, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Forest Service.
The WCC gives applicants confidence about the carbon savings that woodland projects can achieve. It does this by providing:
- a high quality, robust voluntary carbon standard
- a transparent UK Land Carbon Registry
- robust science to predict and monitor carbon sequestration
- independent validation and verification of projects
This means that:
- carbon buyers have confidence that they have invested in a responsible scheme and can see the benefits that it will provide
- project developers have recognised procedures and standards for woodland management and carbon accounting
How woodland carbon units benefit companies and the environment
Woodland carbon units from verified WCC projects can help your company compensate for its unavoidable emissions.
As well as removing carbon from the atmosphere, projects also provide benefits for water, biodiversity, communities and the economy.
Explore the WCC website for more information, such as:
- what woodland carbon units are
- why companies should buy WCC-verified carbon units
- where to buy WCC-verified carbon units
- what other companies say
Read the UK government’s environmental reporting guidelines, which set out how a company should report its greenhouse gas emissions.
Woodland carbon units case studies
Read examples of buyers who have purchased woodland carbon units.
How to sell woodland carbon units if you’re a landowner
If you meet the WCC standard, you can sell the carbon sequestered in your woodland through woodland carbon units.
See the process if you’re a landowner with a woodland creation project, including how to:
- find a project developer
- register your project
- get validated (have your project checked at the outset)
- stay verified (have your project checked to show progress)
Find out if you can apply for other Forestry Commission funding, including the:
- England Woodland Creation Offer
- Countryside Stewardship: funding
- Woodland Creation Planning Grants
- HS2 Woodland Fund
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee (WCaG)
Once you’ve registered for the WCC, you can also apply for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee (WCaG). The WCaG is an incentive to plant trees in England to help remove carbon from the atmosphere. It gives you the option to sell woodland carbon units to the government every 5 or 10 years up to 2055-2056.
The government will buy the woodland carbon units for an agreed guaranteed price that is index-linked for the life of the contract. You can still choose to sell the carbon credits on the open market at any time.
WCC project case studies
Read examples of projects with woodland carbon units.
Use the UK Land Carbon Registry
The UK Land Carbon Registry holds details of WCC projects, and tracks the distribution, ownership and use of carbon credits. You can use it to look up a project or to see who has purchased carbon units from WCC projects.
Contact the WCC team
You can email: [email protected] or find regional and national contact details for the WCC team.
Updates to this page
Published 9 July 2018Last updated 3 February 2022 + show all updates
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General updates to the page.
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First published.