Governance
Secretariat
The Woodland Carbon Code secretariat function is provided by Scottish Forestry, on behalf of the Forestry Commission in England, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Forest Service. Before April 2019, it was managed by the Forestry Commission.
Scottish Forestry is the Scottish Government agency responsible for forestry policy, support and regulation.
Nature Markets Strategy Board
The Nature Markets Strategy Board oversees the direction and priorities of the Woodland Carbon Code and facilitates co-working across all four forestry authorities.
Its first meeting will take place on Tuesday 25 June 2024.
Members
| Name | Job title | Organisation |
| Richard Stanford | Chief Executive Officer | Forestry Commission |
| Paul Lowe | Chief Executive Officer | Scottish Forestry |
| Naomi Matthiessen | Deputy Director, Landscapes, Nature and Forestry | Welsh Government |
| John Joe O’Boyle | Chief Executive Officer | Northern Ireland Forest Service |
| Pat Snowdon (technical support) | Head of Economics and Woodland Carbon Code | Scottish Forestry |
Executive Board
This board is the executive body responsible for managing the day-to-day running of the code, including its application, promotion and strategic and technical development. It reports to the Nature Markets Strategy Board and meets around six times per year.
Tasks include:
- Annual review and update of the code
- Interpretation of the code and its application, including dispute resolution
- Design of the validation, monitoring and verification process
- Support for the operation of the registry
- Project validation/verification support and governance
- Approval of validation/verification bodies
- Capacity building, communication and promotion of the code
- Periodic reports on the uptake of the code and a triannual evaluation
- Establish sub-committees as necessary to deal with specific issues (e.g. communications)
Members
| Name | Organisation |
| Dr Pat Snowdon | Scottish Forestry (UK management team) |
| Dr Vicky West | Scottish Forestry (UK management team) |
| Andrew Baker | Scottish Forestry (UK management team) |
| Dr Mark Broadmeadow | Forestry Commission |
| Jamie Smith | Scottish Forestry |
| Fiona Hay | Welsh Government |
| Ben Searle | Northern Ireland Forest Service |
Advisory Board
The advisory board advises executive board on:
- The development and revision of the code and supporting tools and guidance
- Interpretation of the code and its application
- Validation, monitoring and verification processes
- Communication and promotion of the code
- Monitoring, research and evaluation
- Market development
The advisory board meets around four times per year or more frequently as required. The Woodland Carbon Code secretariat acts as chair and provides secretariat services.
Members
Members come from a broad range of forest sector and carbon market stakeholders. Other experts can be asked to attend when necessary. Members are appointed by executive board and membership is reviewed regularly. Any potential conflicts of interest shall be stated by members and the secretariat will manage accordingly.
| Stakeholder group | Name | Organisation |
| Government |
Emily Petrie Peter Coleman |
Defra BEIS |
|
Forestry representative bodies (representatives of each body rotate two-yearly) |
Robert South Dr Kate Palmer |
Institute of Chartered Foresters Confor |
|
Landowner representative bodies (representatives of each body rotate two-yearly) |
Graham Clark | Country, Land and Business Association |
| Academia/ research |
Ewan Mackie Matthew Brander |
Forest Research Edinburgh University Business School |
| Other standard-setters |
Peter Wilson Renée Kervliet-Hermans Nick Blyth |
UK Woodland Assurance Standard/Wilson Applied Consultancy UK Peatland Code Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment |
| Validators/ verifiers |
Andy Grundy Steve Clarkson |
Soil Association Organic Farmers and Growers |
|
Project developers (two-year term) |
James Russell Emma Kerr |
Forest of Marston Vale Trust Scottish Woodlands Ltd |
|
Buyers/ investors (two-year term) |
Bruce Kennedy (end-user) Areeb Arshad Robert Guest |
Boston Consulting Group (end-user) ACT (retail aggregator) Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company Plc and Foresight Group (investor) |
Disputes Panel
The disputes panel deals with any disputes relating to the interpretation of the standard.
Members
| Name | Organisation |
| Peter Wilson (Chair) - Advisory board member | Wilson Applied Consultancy |
| Stuart Goodall - Advisory board member | CONFOR |
| Dr Pat Snowdon - Executive board member | Scottish Forestry |
| Dr Mark Broadmeadow - Executive board member | Forestry Commission |
If the appointed advisory board members have a conflict of interest concerning any case, then the executive board will appoint an alternative advisory board member. Voting is by majority. In the case of a split decision, the chair has the casting vote.
The panel meets as required and advises the executive board. If you have an issue to bring to the panel, please complete the disputes claimant form and email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The disputes process is set out below.
- The disputes panel will invite the claimant to make their case.
- The secretariat and/or the validator/ verifier will also provide information on the case.
- The panel will consider all information then share a draft response with the claimant for comment.
- The claimant will have a fixed time to comment.
- Any new information will be shared with the secretariat to ensure a common understanding of the issues.
- The panel will consider any further information and then formally respond.
- The panel’s decision is final.
Any complaints about the conduct of Scottish Forestry staff members should follow our standard complaints procedure.
