Tim Barratt

The UK has a productivity problem. One overlooked solution lies in the forestry sector. A strategic approach to increasing our domestic timber production and use could not only help decarbonize the construction sector but also provide a significant productivity boost to the UK.

In Bidwells’ latest groundbreaking report, The Productivity Engine, we uncover the fundamental role that space plays in understanding - and solving - the UK’s productivity problems.

According to a recent Boston Consulting Group report, the total value of the world’s forests is estimated to be $150tn - double the value of the global stock markets – with tree’s carbon storage ability amounting to 90% of this value.

There’s a growing recognition and desire for a low-carbon 'green recovery'. We ask if a new way of valuing forests could be the real catalyst for a step change in UK woodland creation?

As an environmental scientist, a forester and parent, I applaud this week’s announcement by the Prime Minister for a renewed tree planting commitment of 30,000 hectares of trees every year in his 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution.

There’s currently a debate underway in the UK around where plantation forestry i.e. fast-growing timber producing forestry, fits into the voluntary carbon market system, the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC). Similar discussions are being held in other parts of the world, as globally we analyse how to deal with the climate change challenge we all face.