UK’s First-of-its-kind Woodland Carbon Capture Project – a Blueprint to reach Net Zero?

Netafim, the global leader of sustainable precision irrigation solutions and agricultural projects, today announced implementation of its drip irrigation system for a plantation growing carbon-storing trees at the Euston Estate, Suffolk, to ensure the project’s long-term stability, increase yield and carbon-storing capabilities.

In the first-of-its-kind project in the UK initiated by Carbon Plantations, a variety of Paulownia trees are being planted across 134 hectares of land to produce fast-growing quality hardwood and absorb carbon dioxide up to seven times faster than newly-planted indigenous woodland.

Netafim has implemented its drip irrigation system across the plantation – one of the largest scale projects for its UK operation – to ensure the project’s long-term stability and increase yield. Working towards the UK Government’s strategy of creating economic opportunities for carbon capture as a key part of achieving net-zero emission goals, the trees will be thinned out after seven years, their timber sold for light construction and carbon credits will either be claimed or auctioned for corporate carbon offsetting, contributing to ESG goals. The project is expected to absorb 150,000 tonnes of CO2 over the first 10 years of its lifetime.

Nigel Couch, Managing Director, Carbon Plantations, said: “We are acutely aware in the urgency of taking action to tackle the climate and ecological crises, and increasing tree planting is a key part of the government’s Net Zero strategy. Farmers planting trees on their land is providing much needed diversity, and new varieties can offer exciting and progressive solutions. No other tree can sequester as much CO2 as quickly as the Paulownia, and its wood is known as the aluminium of the timber industry. This new hybrid variety offers huge potential benefits for biodiversity, carbon capture and UK hardwood supply. The irrigation infrastructure and consultation that Netafim has delivered is key to the success of this unique project.”

Alongside this, the agricultural pioneer is partnering with farmers and organizations from around the world to grow more with less.

“Over the last sixty years we’ve been at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and we’re excited to continue in this role by both initiating and supporting projects to help reduce and capture carbon emissions,” says John Farner, Netafim Chief Sustainability Officer. “We already know that our drip technology increases water and nutrient use efficiency, while increasing productivity. We are excited to partner with Carbon Plantations to transform the way we are removing carbon from the atmosphere and advancing life around the world.”

About Netafim

Netafim is the world’s largest irrigation company and the global leader in precision irrigation solutions committed to fighting scarcity of food, water, and land, for a sustainable future. With 33 subsidiaries and 17 manufacturing plants worldwide, Netafim offers innovative, tailor-made irrigation and fertigation solutions to millions of farmers from smallholders to large-scale agricultural producers, in over 110 countries.

Founded in 1965, Netafim pioneered the drip revolution, creating a paradigm shift toward precision irrigation. Today, the company specializes in end-to-end solutions from the water source to the root zone, and offers a variety of  irrigation, open field and greenhouse projects, as well as landscaping and mining solutions supported by engineering, project management and financing services. Netafim also leads the way in digital farming, having integrated real-time monitoring, analysis, and automated control into one state-of-the-art system.

In 2017, Orbia, a global leader in specialty products and innovative solutions, acquired 80% of Netafim, while Kibbutz Hatzerim holds the remaining 20%.

See how Netafim’s solutions are changing the economics of agriculture and helping the world Grow More with Less™ at www.netafim.com.

About Orbia 

Orbia is a community of companies bound by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. The Orbia companies have a collective focus on ensuring food security, reducing water scarcity, reinventing the future of cities and homes, connecting communities to data infrastructure, and expanding access to health and wellness with basic and advanced materials and solutions. Orbia operates in the Precision Agriculture, Building and Infrastructure, Fluorinated Solutions, Polymer Solutions, and Data Communications sectors. The company has commercial activities in more than 110 countries and operations in over 50, with global headquarters in Mexico City, Boston, Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv. To learn more, please visit http://www.orbia.com.