Research undertaken by the Federation and reported in the 2020/21 National Historic Vehicle Survey showed that 35% of historic vehicle enthusiasts either currently contribute to or would do if an appropriate carbon offsetting scheme was available.
Having represented the historic vehicle community successfully since 1988 the Federation was well placed to lead a historic vehicle carbon balancing initiative into the future. What then followed was a research phase looking at all manner of solutions from tree planting in various parts of the world including several projects in the UK to the purchase of cooking stoves in Ghana and just about everything in between!
We came to the conclusion that if our initiative was to maintain the reputation of the Federation and be accessible to British enthusiasts then UK based projects were the best choice.
The passion of Tom and the team from Tree-V captured our interest in acting as the interface between our knowledge of historic vehicle enthusiasts and the complex world of those planting trees. Tree-V recommended Forest Carbon and their credentials spoke for themselves. Established in 2006, Forest Carbon has planted over 13 million trees and are certified by the Woodland Carbon Code - which is supported by the UK government and internationally recognised by ICROA (International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance). They make sure they plant the 'right tree in the right place' as required through adherence to the Forestry Commission standards. Trees purchased through Tree-V are registered on the UK Land Carbon Registry and are subject to verification checks every five years to ensure the plantation is capturing the specified level of carbon.
When an enthusiast makes a purchase via the website, (a manual process with payment by cheque is also available) these funds are automatically credited to a bespoke bank account with Lloyds Bank and each month Tree-V invoice the Federation for trees purchased, funds are transferred to Tree-V and in turn Tree-V place an order with Forest Carbon for the planting of these trees.
Like all financial transactions conducted by the Federation, processes are managed by our internal team and reviewed annually by an independent firm of chartered accountants. Our process is secure and provides the option for enthusiasts to carbon balance their own mileage or for clubs to carbon balance specific events be they tours or national events. The most important point is to act now, at the time of writing in March 2022... more than half a million miles of motoring have been carbon balanced!