Irish boutique asset manager KBI Global Investors is to plant 6,000 trees as part of its climate action programme.
The project has been backed by the Irish Woodland Environmental Fund, established by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in 2019 as a vehicle to encourage companies to provide incentives for landowners to plant new native woodlands.
It is hoped that, over time, the newly planted trees will sequester carbon dioxide and provide significant environmental benefits including biodiversity gains.
“We are an Irish based investment firm with a predominantly international client base. The team travels a lot, “said Sean Hawkshaw, chief executive officer at KBI Global Investors.
“We are very aware of our own responsibility to the environment and committed to mitigating the carbon impact of our air travel – and helping to develop more native woodlands in Ireland is a key part of this initiative.”
KBI has chosen a site outside Castlerea in County Roscommon. It has been converted from livestock use and replanted with Oak, Scots Pine, Birch, Whitethorn and Hazel to improve the local environment in terms of biodiversity, water quality and sustainability, sequestering more than 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
“Forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, and retaining it for generations,” Hawkshaw explained.
“We have been managing these portfolios for almost 20 years now and the focus is on identifying the companies that provide solutions to sustainability challenges related to the provision of food, energy, water and the mitigation of and adaptation to the impacts of climate change.’’
