Forest owners

What are the benefits of certification?

Climate certifying your forestry means creating a new product range in the forest – carbon credits. As a forest owner, you can continue to sell sawlogs, pulpwood and fuelwood but now also carbon credits. Since carbon credits are created through a strategic increase in wood supply in the forest holding, the compensation for carbon credits means that you fully, or partially, compensate for loss of income linked to a slightly lower harvesting intensity.

The forest owner´s choice

As a forest owner, you decide how to adapt your forestry to increase the timber stock. This can be done by adjusting thinning programs, fertilizing parts of the property, extending rotation periods, or transitioning parts of the forest from clear-cutting to some form of continuous-cover forestry. The important thing is that the average timber stock per hectare increases across the entire holding.

Increased forest growth

A strategic increase in timber stock and continued good forest management lead to increased growth and future harvesting. This benefits the forest owner’s economy. Increased forest growth also enhances the chances of reaching Swedish and European climate goals and strengthens the contribution to the circular bioeconomy.

New business model

By valuing the forest’s carbon sink, behavior across the entire market changes. The basic principle is simple — forest owners who manage their forests in a way that increases the timber stock, and thus the carbon storage, create a carbon sink. Carbon Capture Company ensures the stability of this carbon sink over time through regular monitoring of forest conditions in climate projects throughout their duration. The forest is now valued not only for its timber but also for the climate benefits it provides. As the price of carbon credits rises, this will increasingly influence how forests are bought, sold, and managed.

How to get started

Commitments of the forest owner

Good to know before applying for a carbon forestry project

The forest management unit (FMU)

Carbon Capture Company only certifies entire property or properties controlled by the operator. The reason for this is to avoid internal leakage — meaning that you cannot increase the timber stock in one part of the property while increasing harvesting intensity in another. This approach minimizes the risk of leakage, ensuring that forest carbon gains in one area are not offset by increased harvesting in another.

Guaranteeing the timber stock throughout the agreement period

If you become certified and issue carbon credits, it means you guarantee not to fall below the timber stock level that was used as the basis for issuing the carbon credits during the period in which you commit to keeping the captured carbon stored in your forest. This stock is referred to as the guarantee stock. This means that you can harvest the growth from the upcoming years, but not so much that the timber stock after harvesting falls below the guarantee stock level. If you choose to increase the timber stock in the following years and issue more carbon credits, the guarantee stock will increase accordingly. Ensuring the guarantee stock is a central part of your commitment as a forest owner.

How to apply for a carbon forestry project

The following parts must be included in an application to be complete;

  • Property designations and proof of ownership of the forest properties included in the project
  • Contact person with contact information
  • Total area
  • Productive forest land
  • Formally protected nature
  • Timber stock in m3sk at project start according to the forest management plan
  • Estimated annual growth in m3sk over the next five-year period according to the forest management plan, for the entire property/ies excluding formal set asides
  • Estimated maximum possible harvesting according to current legislation including thinning during the project period
  • Active harvesting notifications to the Forest Agency
  • Extract from the forest management plan showing age class distribution and forest distribution by cutting classes
  • Activity period
  • Proposed baseline for the project
  • Expected net carbon removal
  • Expected commitment period
  • Co-benefits

The process

Once the application is submitted, Carbon Capture Company reviews it. If it is complete, it moves on to the analysis phase. The information in the application is verified through various steps, and a review report is prepared. If all quality criteria and conditions are met according to the Carbon Forestry Standard – Sweden, the climate project is approved, and an agreement can be established between Carbon Capture Company and the forest owner.

The agreement serves as proof that the forest owner is climate-certified and has the opportunity to issue carbon credits. The forest owner then reports annually on the outcomes of their forestry activities (how much the timber stock has increased). If the forest owner decides to guarantee the increase in timber stock, an issuance agreement for carbon credits is entered into.

Want to know more?

Are you a forest owner and want to climate certify your forest?

Do you want to know more about the Carbon Forestry Standard – Sweden?