Benefits to landowners

Creating woodland carbon projects can provide a range of benefits to landowners, local communities, nature and the environment.

Income opportunities

By creating new woodlands which meet the Woodland Carbon Code standard, landowners can access a new source of income - carbon units. Carbon units can provide:

• Upfront income: You can sell Pending Issuance Units to fund the initial costs of establishing your woodland. A native woodland could generate around 400 units per hectare.
• Future income: Once your woodland starts absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere, you can sell Woodland Carbon Units.

View our pages on selling carbon units and UK carbon prices for more information.  

In addition to carbon income, your woodland could also bring in revenue from timber products like sawlogs and wood fuel.

Social and environmental benefits

As well as removing carbon dioxide, woodland creation projects provide many social and environmental benefits, including: 

• Enhancing wildlife and biodiversity
• Providing shelter for animals
• Improving air quality, water quality and flood reduction
• Producing sustainable building materials 
• Improving or restoring local landscapes
• Offering wood fuel as an alternative to fossil fuels
• Boosting health and wellbeing 
• Providing employment, volunteering and educational opportunities 

Credibility and reassurance

Having your project validated and verified under the Woodland Carbon Code adds credibility and reassures potential buyers about the carbon it has removed.  

The code is endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance and recognised in:

• The UK Government's environmental reporting guidelines
• The Scottish Government’s natural capital market framework
• The Welsh Government’s consultation on sustainable investment principles
• PAS 2060 - BSI's standard for carbon neutral claims
• Flex 701 - BSI’s nature markets principals and framework specification
• Climate Impact Partners' carbon neutral protocol
• The Green Building Council's net zero carbon buildings framework

We are working to ensure the code aligns with the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s core carbon principles. 

We encourage companies which buy Woodland Carbon Code units to follow the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative’s code of practice.

Growing your own carbon units

Growing your own carbon units is the process of developing a Woodland Carbon Code project on your company’s land and using the units against the company’s emissions. It can be a cost-effective way to compensate for unavoidable emissions from your landholding or business, reducing the need to buy carbon credits. 

Tax benefits

• Income/corporation tax: Income from commercial forestry is exempt from income or corporation tax. 
• Inheritance tax: Woodland Carbon Code are covered in HMRC's inheritance tax manual.
• VAT: VAT applies to certain trades of voluntary carbon credits, though some activities remain outside VAT’s scope. HMRC has updated its guidance on this.

The UK government recently ran a consultation on the taxation of environmental land management and ecosystem service markets. You can read the outcome on the gov.uk website.

It's best to seek professional advice on your situation before making long-term investment decisions.