SME News Scottish Enterprise 2024/ 20 Best Nationwide Carbon Units Supplier 2024 & Best Natural Landscape Restoration Experts 2024 Highland Carbon Ltd envisions a better future for us all, one where the climate is habitable, the planet’s natural areas brim with biodiversity and greater wellbeing is achieved in communities where its projects are located. This purpose-driven operation was established by Richard Clarke, a seasoned zoologist and an individual whose international conservation experience has allowed the company to shape a number of vast, UK-based forest and wetland projects. Today, the UK is one of the planet’s most nature-depleted countries, with around one in seven species at risk of extinction. It is Highland Carbon’s mission to change this, something it carries out through carbon offsetting projects based within nature itself. Partnering with more than a dozen of the largest Scottish estates and operating within the robust frameworks of both the Woodland Carbon Code and the Peatland Code. The company also curates carbon units from international projects in dozens of countries, vetting them to ensure their compliance with regulation. These projects include, for example: tropical forest protection, sustainable forestry, hydro-electric power plants, wind farms and solar arrays. With Managing Director Richard Clarke at the helm – whose more than three decades in the field of CSR working for such bluechip companies as IKEA, Sainsburys, Disney, and Rolls Royce have cemented his legacy as an industry leader. Highland Carbon has proven itself to be an ethical business since first opening its doors in 2017. Its forestry and peatland restoration projects for example offer huge opportunities for community and economic development in some of the UK’s most remote locations, with locals hired where possible and all workers come from the given region of the country. As a result of these efforts, Highland Carbon has demonstrably restored significant portions of the UK’s most affected wilderness areas to their former glories, going beyond simply farming carbon and instead planting two dozen species of trees including rare tree species such as aspen and black poplar. Landscapes have subsequently arisen which look as if they are straight out of a film, all whilst enhancing water quality in local burns, rivers, lochs and reservoirs. In particular, Highland Carbon can supply its company clients with a bespoke, blended approach. UK carbon units can be bundled with international units to achieve a given price point and a range of recognised hallmarks for Environmental, Social and Governance reporting. Of course, the tangible nature of these projects means that clients are able to visit them, and employee engagement initiatives such as tree planting, tree-guard removal, meadow restoration, and owl box installation can all be carried out on request. The fact that Highland Carbon only ever partners with established landowners helps to avoid risks associated with landowners whose wealth cannot be easily documented, or venture capital firms that could purchase estates and clear farmers and crofters off the land. Richard tells us that one of his former bosses once shared that he would never hire anyone who he would not be content to invite round to his house for dinner with his family. In other words, employing decent, honest and ethical people. Richard shares this belief with respect to personnel, collaborators, suppliers and subcontractors. This leads to strong relationships and an amazingly positive culture. Given the positive and proactive approach of Highland Carbon, it is no surprise that the number of estates with which it collaborates continues to grow. Today, the company is speaking with more than thirty estates about undertaking projects. Having started in mountains of Scotland – with this location giving the company its name – recent expansion has taken Highland Carbon across the length and breadth of Scotland and into Northern England. Latterly, Highland Carbon has undertaken a project in South Wales. Upcoming projects are planned in Northern Ireland. In closing, Richard explains: “Wherever we expand to, our culture will remain the same. We will achieve co-benefits for the public and for each local community in relation to public access, flood mitigation, drinking water quality, inspirational landscape aesthetics, and more.” As a result of this, Highland Carbon Ltd has positioned itself as the ultimate ethical carbon operation – helping clients to achieve robust climate credentials whilst enabling large areas of nature to be restored to their former glory – and deserving of a place in this programme for the fourth time. Oct24199
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