About

Skógarkolefni – Forest Carbon Code is a voluntary carbon standard that promotes consistency in carbon projects with afforestation measures, giving customers a well-defined and transparent choice.

The standard was initiated by Skógræktin, the Icelandic Forest Service, and the development of the standard was handled by the organisation's experts in cooperation with various parties. In particular, the certification company iCert, The International Carbon Regiistry (ICR) and the Icelandic Standards Council Staðlaráð should be mentioned.

The role of Skógarkolefni is not to serve Skógræktin. On the contrary, the standard was created in line with the organisation's statutory role of serving forests and forestry in Iceland. The standard is intended for everyone who chooses to responsibly undertake new afforestation projects in Iceland with the main goal of long-term carbon sequestration in Icelandic forests and creating along the way certified carbon units. Of course, such measures will yield all the additional benefits that afforestation entails. Additional benefits refer to things such as production, soil conservation, ecosystem restoration and shelter to name a few. It should also be emphasised that positive economic impacts of forests are unquestionable. Forests improve living conditions as well as increasing various possibilities for the development of society and, not least, they build sustainable natural resources for the future. New afforestation together with the spread of natural woodland also supports various international goals, e.g. on increased forest cover, prevention of ecosystem degradation and desertification, strengthening of soil resources, not to mention various climate goals, biodiversity goals and more.

The standard Skógarkolefni connects afforestation in Iceland to the voluntary carbon market. This is a field which is expanding rapidly in line with the growing climate threat and the increasing need for companies, institutions and other legal entities to take responsible action in the climate context. In order for actions to be carried out responsibly they need to be accountable and to be carried out in an open and transparent process. For that, a regulatory framework is needed that complies with international requirements for best practices. Skógarkolefni is such a regulatory framework, a standard that meets set requirements. The model for Skógarkolefni was the British standard UK Woodland Carbon Code, and the first edition of Skógarkolefni, which was published at the end of 2019, was mostly a translation and localisation of that British standard. In the spring of 2023, version 2.0 of Skógarkolefni was published. The standard is essentially the same, but has been further developed in accordance with the development of the Icelandic legal and regulatory environment and the introduction of the technical specification ÍST TS 92:2022 Carbon offsetting: Specification with guidance, which can be found on the website of the Icelandic Standards Council. The nature of standards is to be in continuous development with continuous improvements towards increased quality and in line with the development of society and the environment.

More information can be found on the overview pages of this website under the tab Entrance. The standard itself is to be found under the tab Standard and guidance.