The Peatland Code provides businesses and investors with independent, globally-recognised validation of the integrity, compliance and best practice of peatland restoration projects.
The Peatland Code is an independently-verified, voluntary certification standard for UK peatland projects created by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme. Globally recognised as a credible, science-based carbon standard with rigorous accreditation requirements, the code sets out a series of best-practice requirements, including a standard method for the quantification of greenhouse gas reductions.
Good for everyone
“Peatland restoration is an internationally recognised and cost-effective way to tackle climate change,” says the IUCN. “It is in everyone’s interest for peatlands to be in a healthy state.
“By supporting Peatland Code projects through the purchase of validated and verified carbon units, businesses will have an opportunity to not only address their carbon footprint but also enhance their brand integrity and value, deliver corporate sustainability objectives and contribute strategically to the long-term protection and enhancement of the UK natural environment.
“Action now to invest in peatlands will avoid far greater cost to businesses and wider society in future with the Peatland Code providing a robust mechanism for those wishing to do so.”
Initially written in 2015, then updated and reissued in 2017, the code is based on extensive R&D undertaken by experts and examined by an independent advisory board. Covering every step of the peatland restoration process – registration, site survey, restoration plan, GHG (greenhouse gas) assertion, validation, implementation of the restoration plan and ongoing verification – it continues to evolve as the board receives ongoing submissions.
Bird’s eye view of degraded hagg system pre restoration
The Peatland Code is currently on the path to endorsement from both the United Kingdom Accreditation service (UKAS) and the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA). These are important steps in strengthening its global recognition.
What the code guarantees you
The Peatland Code has been developed to ensure that all restoration work validated under its standards meets a series of tightly specified criteria, demonstrating full compliance.
All of our work at Caledonian Climate is carried out in strict accordance with this code, which provides both our landholder and business clients with confidence and peace of mind.
Operators reprofiling a hagg
The Peatland Code requires exacting evidence that each restoration project is genuine, quantifiable and under contract for a minimum of 30 years. It lays down standards for the depth of the peat, the type of bogland (which must be blanket or raised) and the level/type of existing degradation.
It also stipulates that the project must not involve the removal of any forestry, or conflict with other land management agreements. And the restoration must be ‘additional’, which means it must require carbon finance to take place.
We rigorously adhere to the Peatland Code’s standards, providing you with the confidence that:
- The integrity of the credits generated is guaranteed, with zero risk of ‘double counting’.
- Best practice has been followed from project inception, through validation and beyond.
- The specific carbon benefit from each project will be regularly monitored throughout the duration of a restoration project (up to 100 years).
- The co-benefits of all projects are genuine and tangible, making a clear, positive and measurable impact on the surrounding area.
Find out more about the Peatland Code here or simply contact us.
