Corporate Advisory Services

Carbon Measurement & CO₂ Mitigation through Forestry

Professionally managed forests provide an optimal and cost-effective solution for climate change mitigation. Veon works with their clients to initially quantify and report on the existing stock of carbon held in their client’s forest portfolio and then provides specialist silvicultural advice to implement advanced forest management techniques to maximise carbon sequestration within the forest portfolio.

Forests reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide through natural biological growth and store carbon in forest biomass and forest soil. Indeed, the products of forests continue to store carbon for long periods while the forest they came from regenerates storing yet more carbon. However, due to the overall heterogeneous and dynamic nature of forest ecosystems and end product utilisation, estimation and forecasting of these processes is complex.

Veon utilises the most dynamic software currently available in forest management to help corporates, and forest owners achieve their environmental objectives and achieve more sustainable policy, plan and project outcomes.

Models and assumptions are based on the most up to date data and research, and we strive for continuous improvement of our carbon calculations in close collaboration with our clients and partners.

Veon will report and measure the amount of carbon stored in a client’s existing forest portfolio or in researching a proposed forest portfolio for acquisition purposes based on potential carbon offset.

Veon’s Carbon and CO₂ Mitigation report will examine the standing stock at the beginning of a pre-agreed time frame and analyse and report on the biological growth during the period. The report will include carbon impact from new planting on the portfolio and wood sales during the period.

Following the delivery of Veon’s Carbon and CO₂ Mitigation report, Veon will engage with the client to assess options and propose a Carbon Forest Management Plan to explore strategic solutions to help maximise carbon sequestration and storage within the forest portfolio.

Carbon mitigation strategies are developed to provide real reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by reducing, absorbing or avoiding the release of carbon dioxide to make real climate impact. Periodical forest carbon updates for institutional forest owners provide increasingly important messaging to engage stakeholders and shareholders.

Our bespoke solutions and climate smart forest management planning and decision making is now available to all forest owners and corporates seeking forest carbon emission reporting and mitigation solutions.

Silvicultural Consultancy

In addition to the controlling of establishment, growth, composition, and quality of forests for a range of resource objectives, silviculture also manages forests for wildlife, water, recreation, aesthetics and any combination of these according to the objectives of the forest owner.

With 30 years’ experience implementing silvicultural solutions in a broad range of forest environments, Veon’s silvicultural consultancy is tailored precisely to our client’s specific requirements underpinning the forest management plan to ensure that the client’s forest investment and environmental objectives are focused and achieved.

Our service is therefore diverse, encompassing the management of forests in sympathy with the environment they occupy.  We offer complete management planning, ecological surveys, valuations, auditing, advice to individuals, corporate and government institutions.

Veon also conducts pre-screening consultation with the regulatory authorities on behalf of clients. We combine our silvicultural technical resources with management consulting expertise to offer our clients practical solutions to manage their risk exposure.

Forest Valuations

Veon is Ireland’s most experienced valuer and assessor of forests with 30 years’ experience in this area.  The company abides by the Code of practice – Valuation of Commercial Forest Plantations which was co-authored by Daragh Little Managing Director of Forestry at Veon. This code has set the standard for forest valuations in Ireland and its principals have been adapted and are applicable in a global context.

Veon conducts forest valuations on behalf of its clients in several jurisdictions in Europe and further afield.

No two forest portfolios are the same and each jurisdiction has its own individual set of variables to negotiate and understand. Our forestry experts provide valuations taking a broad range of criteria into account such as international and local market intelligence, timber prices, land price movements and local investment market sentiment.

In Ireland, the market for valuations of forest plantations for all purposes has increased as the estate of private forests has grown over the past thirty years.  Veon is at the forefront in this area and has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) for their members. With Veon’s wealth of knowledge of the forestry market, having negotiated over 25,000 acres over the last decade on behalf of our clients, this memorandum provides professional advice to Auctioneers helping them provide the best service to their clients.

Veon has transacted over 10,000 ha of forestry plantations over the last decade from small once off transactions to large portfolios. Our market leadership position, knowledge and experience gives us a unique insight into forest market dynamics and enables us to provide accurate plantation portfolio valuations.

Windfarm Forest Consultancy

Wind farming plays an important part of the renewable energy supply mix in the drive to carbon neutrality. In order to maximise the energy producing capability of windfarms they must be located in areas where they can maximise the wind resource.  In many cases this is also where forests are located.

Forests can interfere with the efficiency of wind farms. Removing forests to facilitate a wind farm is challenging both in terms of legal requirements and cost. A balance must be found between the cost of removing the trees and the increased efficiency that results. In addition, many wind farm developers have no knowledge of forestry. They know they must replant land taken out of forestry and they need professional forestry advice to fulfil their legal obligations whilst minimising the cost of doing so.

Veon provides forestry consultancy services to windfarm developers and has a proven track record with Ireland’s largest utility and windfarm operators.

Veon provides expert forest consultancy services to the windfarm industry.
Our services include:

• Forest consultancy on completion of the EIA for Windfarm planning applications
• Identifying potential forestry constraints/impacts and providing mitigation measures
• Expert forestry knowledge input into legal agreements impacting forests
• Forest valuations for compensation purposes
• Forest inventory of existing forests within and surrounding wind farm proposal
• Cost benefit analysis of removing forests to facilitate the wind farm
• Expert forestry advice on repayment of grants and premiums
• Felling licence applications and negotiations with Forest regulatory authorities
• Sourcing new land to replace land taken out of forestry
• Replanting land and maintenance until new plantation established
• Ongoing management of the forest to maximise commercial potential

Contact Veon to discuss how we can help achieve your company’s windfarm objectives.