Argyll trees planted to offset emissions

In one of the first 'carbon-offsetting' schemes of its kind in Argyll, a Port Glasgow-based whisky packaging firm has planted trees in a 34.5 hectare (85 acre) site at Millhouse, near Tighnabruaich.

 

McLaren Packaging said it has invested £150,000 in the project 'as part of its aim to deliver a sustainable business that has minimal impact on the environment and a positive impact on the communities within which it operates'.

 

Managed by Forest Carbon, the new mixed woodland planting on former livestock grazing land will create a productive, predominately native woodland of 68,000 trees. Comprising sycamore, willow, oak, aspen, beech, cherry, Norway spruce and Scots pine, it is hoped the woodland will capture 9,500 tonnes of CO2 over the life of the project.

 

McLaren Packaging sales and marketing director Michael McLaren said: 'We have invested significant time and resources into measuring our environmental impact and how to reduce it. Carbon removal offsets play an important role in our strategy.

 

'Having signed up to the United Nations Race to Zero campaign ahead of the recent COP26 climate change conference, we are committed to halving our emissions before 2030 and achieving net zero before 2050.

 

'The Millhouse project allows us to offset operational emissions, such as from the use of natural gas for heating and diesel for transport, as well as emissions from our employees’ commutes to work and business travel, which are difficult to avoid.

 

'We believe emissions should be sequestered where they are created, via a verified nature-based scheme, which is why we have invested in woodland creation in Argyll, less than 25 miles from our production sites in Port Glasgow. Not only will this help minimise our carbon footprint, it will also help our customers achieve the same.'

 

Mr McLaren stressed his company receives 'no financial incentive' through the project.

 

Stephen Prior, director at Forest Carbon, added: 'Projects such as the one supported by McLaren help us provide a host of other benefits to society, including flood mitigation, enhanced biodiversity and increased investment in the UK forestry sector.'

 

The project adheres to the Woodland Carbon Code, the UK quality assurance standard for woodland creation projects, generating independently-verified carbon units. Backed by the UK Government, the forest industry and carbon market experts, the code is unique in providing woodland carbon units in the UK.

 

According to some estimates, the UK needs to plant 32,200 hectares of new woodland every year - around 53.2 million trees - for the next 30 years, equating to 1.5 billion, to meet Net Zero aspirations by 2050. The Scottish Government aims to plant 18,000 hectares per year - 30 million trees - by 2024 with a target to have trees covering 21 per cent of land compared to the current 19 per cent.

 

Founded in 1979, McLaren Packaging supplies paper-based packaging to the Scotch whisky industry and operates from six factories across central Scotland with annual revenues of £35 million. It employs 260 people.

 

PIC:

 

The newly-planted site near Millhouse in the Kyles of Bute. no_a08CarbonOffset_Millhouse01