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6 million
TREES PLANTED
since 1997

Tree planting

Accreditation and standards

Carbon offsets and credits

Pricing and tax deductibility

Tree Planting

Don't trees need a lot of water to grow - why do you plant during a drought?

The trees we plant are all native to the local area in which they are planted.  The species are selected with the help of local experts, the seed is then sourced locally and either planted through direct seeding or germinated into seedlings locally.  This means the trees are well suited to local conditions - including temperature and available water.  We prepare each site and time each planting to give the forests the best possible chances for survival. 

I've heard that you haven't planted as many trees as you've taken donations for, is this true?

No, but clearly we don't go out and plant 17 trees each time someone makes a donation to offset a vehicle.  Throughout the year we collect pledges for trees and when planting conditions are suitable we plant them in bulk.

When do the trees get planted?

At the latest, trees are planted in the calendar year after they are pledged - so trees pledged in 2010 will be planted in 2011.  This gives us enough time to make sure that the conditions are right to correctly offset emissions.

What monitoring do you do?

Greenfleet monitors survival and growth of our forests six months after planting and then every year for five years.  After that we inspect sites every five years to ensure the forests are being maintained and are on track to achieve projected carbon commitments.

What happens if some of the trees die?

We ensure that we meet our commitment to offset greenhouse gas emissions by planting sufficient trees to establish a self-sustaining forest.  As the forest grows it stores carbon from the atmosphere.  The forest also naturally 'thins' as it grows to maturity, meaning that not all trees survive.  Greenfleet makes allowance for the natural 'thinning' process at the time of initial planting.  Further, as the trees mature they drop seed and some natural regeneration also occurs. 

Greenfleet's commitment to recapture carbon on behalf of our supporters also involves the management of the carbon across all our planting sites - some sites and species grow faster and capture carbon faster, others slower - but the entire forest pool is forecast to meet the carbon commitments to our supporters.

What happens if there is a catastrophic event, like a fire?

In the event of a catastrophic fire event, if financial resources allow, we will take action accelerate the recovery of the carbon - if that is not possible, then we will follow the proposed CPRS approach which allows an additional 10 years to recover any shortfall in carbon.

However, Greenfleet plants its forests across many different locations as an intentional measure to reduce the risk of relatively localised events significantly affecting our overall carbon stocks.

How do you work out how much carbon each tree stores?

We use the National Carbon Accounting Toolbox issued by the Australian Department of Climate Change to model the carbon uptake of trees at each planting site.  The National Carbon Accounting Toolbox is the Government approved method for calculating carbon stored by trees.

How long does it take to capture the carbon?

Our aim is to achieve an average of 268 t CO2-e per hectare over 20 years - to achieve this we plant our forests at an initial rate of between 750 and 1,200 stems per hectare.

So how do you stop the trees being cut down?

Greenfleet secures the forests and the carbon on each planting site via legally binding agreement, whether it is privately owned land or government owned such as National Parks.

What sort of trees do you plant?

In addition to capturing carbon, Greenfleet aims to restore vegetation that reflects the vegetation present prior to settlement and land clearing.  We establish forests of mixed species native trees, based on the major vegetation groups that were present before clearing.

This approach has a number of extra environmental benefits:

  • Biological diversity is improved
  • Habitat for native animals is increased
  • Salinity can be reduced
  • Water quality in the catchment can be improved
  • Tree roots can bind the soil to reduce erosion

Where do the trees get planted?

Greenfleet plants forests on cleared land, mostly in regional areas.  So far we have planted in every state and territory of Australia except Tasmania and Northern Territory.  Some land is privately owned (i.e. farms), and some is owned by corporations or government (e.g. city & shire councils, national parks).  The ownership of the land does not change hands, but the carbon stored in the forests on the land is secured by Greenfleet on your behalf.

Accreditation and standards

What accreditation does Greenfleet have?

Greenfleet was the first not-for-profit organisation recognised as an Approved Abatement Provider under the Department of Climate Change's former Greenhouse Friendly™ programme.

For a Forest Sink Abatement Provider like Greenfleet this meant that processes for forest planting, carbon measurement, monitoring, maintenance, permanence and ownership were scrutinised by an independent verifier before being approved by the Department of Climate Change.

However, from 1 July 2010, the Greenhouse Friendly initiative will no longer operate.  There is currently no replacement to accredit Australian Kyoto-compliant forest sink programs. 

Therefore, until a suitable replacement is implemented, Greenfleet will continue to use the Greenhouse Friendly™ standard as a guide, as it is widely recognised as being robust and credible.  We will also consider our options under the National Carbon Offset Scheme, which provides options to accredit non-Kyoto-compliant forests.

What other standards does Greenfleet meet?

Greenfleet forest management practices follow Australian Standard 4978.1-2006 Quantification, monitoring & reporting of greenhouse gases in forest projects - Afforestation and reforestation and our carbon capture and storage models are based upon the National Carbon Accounting Toolbox.

Carbon offsets and credits

Aren't carbon offsets just a licence to continue polluting?

Greenfleet is committed to its strategy of Avoiding, Reducing and Offsetting carbon emissions.  This means that we assist individuals and organisations to do as much as possible to reduce their carbon footprint before they consider buying offsets.

Realistically our lifestyles and workplaces will always produce some carbon emissions.  Planting native forests and other forms of offset help to reduce the impact of these emissions on climate change.  Forests are currently the only commercially available option to remove carbon from the atmosphere once it has been released.

What is a carbon credit?

A carbon credit is a generic term to assign a value to the reduction or offset of greenhouse gas emissions.  A carbon credit is usually equivalent to one tonne of CO2-e.  (Source: carbonoffsetguide.com.au)

When a business or individual purchases a carbon credit this means that one tonne of CO2-e has been reduced or captured at another site to reduce the business or individual's carbon footprint by one tonne of CO2-e.

Are Greenfleet offsets carbon credits?

Greenfleet is currently only able to sell future carbon offsets not current carbon credits. Once Greenfleet undertakes an abatement claim on any of its forests, the carbon stored within that forest becomes current carbon credits.

What is an Abatement Claim?

An abatement claim takes place when the Department of Climate Change (or another verifier endorsed by the DCC) re-measures and verifies Greenfleet's maturing forests to confirm that the amount of carbon contained within its forests are correct.

Can Greenfleet offsets be used in carbon trading?

The regime for carbon trading in Australia is still under discussion and consultation - it is unlikely to be revisited before 2013.  The current proposal is that Forestry offset providers can opt-in to generate permits for use by companies within the trading scheme (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme).  Greenfleet is evaluating  our program's potential for a future role in both the mandatory and voluntary carbon markets.

Who owns the carbon stored in Greenfleet's forests?

Greenfleet currently owns the carbon that is stored within the forests that we have planted for our supporters.  Once an abatement claim has been made (when a trading scheme is developed), supporters will have the option of purchasing the carbon from Greenfleet.

What are the options once an abatement claim has been made?

When an abatement claim has been made you have three options:

  1. Allow Greenfleet to retire the carbon credits back to the Department of Climate Change's register as part of a bulk transaction on behalf of our many supporters (this costs nothing - but the carbon credit can not necessarily be attributed directly to your company).
  2. Purchase the carbon yourself.  As above you will be able to purchase the carbon at the price at the time.  (NB: Our current thinking is that this price will be our price for carbon at that date less the amount paid by the supporter to initially establish the forest.)
  3. Allow Greenfleet to hold the carbon in trust on your behalf for potential purchase at a future date.

What does retire actually mean?

Retiring carbon credits means recording them on a recognised national or international Register so that the same credits can never be used again (or double counted).  This happens either when Greenfleet retires credits back to the Register in bulk or when you record it on your carbon inventory and this is then reported to the Register.

Is it possible for us to use the stored carbon later on?

If you opt to purchase the carbon once an abatement claim has been made you take ownership and control of it.  One option open to you would be to use it within your carbon inventory; this effectively means that you record the carbon and retire it back to the Department of Climate Change to ensure that it is never counted again.

Alternatively you could chose to sell the carbon credit on to another organisation, or trade it on a national or international exchange (NB: This assumes that an emissions trading scheme is implemented in Australia and Kyoto-compliant Forest Sink Abatement becomes eligible for trading within the scheme).

It is important to recognise that reporting a Greenfleet future offset in your current year's inventory and then including the verified carbon against a future years' inventory, or selling it on, as described above could be viewed as 'double counting'.

This situation could occur if you have previously stated that the support you provided Greenfleet to plant forests resulted in the offsetting of emissions (e.g. of cars, flights, etc.).

  • For example:

    Company X     pays Greenfleet $5,000 in 2008 to establish forest.

    On their website, Company X state that they are a proud supporter of Greenfleet and that they have offset the emissions of their 100 cars for 2008 through forest planting.

    In 2013, Greenfleet undertakes an abatement claim against the forest that was planted in 2008 and then offers to transfer ownership of the resultant carbon credits to Company A for a price.

    Company X decides to buy the carbon credits and records them in their Carbon Inventory for 2013, effectively recording them as offsetting carbon emissions in 2013.

    While from a regulatory point of view the carbon has only been recorded once in the organisation's inventory, it has, in effect, been used to offset emissions in 2008 and 2013.

Pricing and tax deductibility

Is my contribution to Greenfleet tax deductible?

YES - if you are an individual, Greenfleet contributions are income tax deductible.  Greenfleet is a registered environmental charity with DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) status.  To confirm this status please visit the Federal Government's Register of Environmental Organisations.

For businesses the situation is not as clear cut.  Offset purchases for businesses and other organisations may be subject to GST, but be deductible as a business expense - please seek your own taxation advice to determine taxation status for your offsets.

How much does it cost?

From 1 July 2010, the following offset prices apply:

 

 Average vehicle offset 

 Per metric tonne of CO2-e

Organisations

$58.05

$13.50

Individuals

$56.95

$12.50

Prior to this Greenfleet prices had not increased for more than two years, however as a not-for-profit organisation we don't have large margins to absorb increasing input costs.  To find out more about this price change, please click here.