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Certify carbon to unlock funding
To earn income from carbon credits, woodland and peatland projects in the UK need to be certified under the Woodland Carbon Code or Peatland Code. Certification involves three key stages, and we can guide you through the full process or step in to support with specific stages as needed.
Register
Required paperwork to get your project formally registered before work begins on site.
Validate
More paperwork, but this time, a third party assesses it. With peatlands, this is split into Project and Restoration Validation.
Verify
Site visits and follow-up paperwork to ensure your project is delivering as expected.
Forest Carbon has been really fundamental in the whole process for us. They've provided us with all of the help and guidance and assistance that we've needed. We'd have been stuck without them, to be honest.
The Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) and Peatland Code (PC) exist for a reason — to give buyers confidence that the projects they support are genuinely delivering additional climate benefits. That’s good for the market as it ensures every project is third-party audited, but it also means certification can be time-consuming and a bit of a headache.
You're in the right place if you're:
- Short on time
- New to the process
- Interested in cost savings through grouped projects
- Or just weighing up your options
We’ve worked with these Codes since the beginning (we even helped shape them) and have supported hundreds of land managers through certification. We’ll guide you through it, cut the admin, advise on likely costs, help you access savings, and can even support you in selling your credits once you're certified.
Reach out to learn more about how we can help.
30%
of all woodlands validated through the Woodland Carbon Code have been spearheaded or supported by Forest Carbon.
Based on statistics published on the WCC website, 21/05/2025
We are market makers
In 2006, our founders, Steve and James, pioneered the concept of a voluntary carbon market in the UK by convincing organisations to fund woodland creation in exchange for carbon credits. Within a few years, they had helped establish 40 new woodlands spanning 800+ hectares.
Seeing the need for clear standards, they worked with the government to create the Woodland Carbon Code, spending two years on its development and a further 12 years serving on its Advisory Board.
They then supported Defra in building the business case for a Peatland Code, contributing through Advisory Board membership and piloting early certification projects.
Since then, our growing team has certified hundreds of nature‑based projects under the Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code, and sold more than 2 million carbon credits from them.
Our depth of experience means we help farmers and land managers unlock the full potential of their land through the UK carbon market — delivering environmental and financial benefits for generations to come.
More ways to work with us
If you didn’t find what you were looking for on this page, we offer other services that may be a better fit. Whatever your goals, we provide straightforward, practical support to help you get involved and make a meaningful impact.
We connect you with buyers seeking UK-based, high-quality carbon credits and help you sell on your terms.
We unlock funding for nature-based projects through our Nature+ programme (for when carbon credit sales don’t make sense).
We collaborate with market builders – from tech solutions to Code verifiers, investors, and grant funders – to strengthen the nature-based carbon market and scale up restoration.