FIT 2023 Carbon Project

FIT 2023 Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located in the South West region of Western Australia, with project areas situated near the timber towns of Manjimup and Greenbushes. Registered in January 2023, the project covers approximately 1,654 hectares and is situated in one of Australia’s premier forestry and agricultural zones. The region is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with high annual rainfall and productive soils, typically consisting of lateritic gravels and sandy loams that support robust timber growth.

The project operates under the 2022 Plantation Forestry methodology, which incentivizes carbon sequestration through commercial timber operations. Specifically, this project engages in two key activities: establishing new plantation forests on land where they did not previously exist, and converting existing short-rotation plantations (typically harvested for woodchips) into long-rotation plantations (harvested for sawlogs). By extending the growth cycle of the trees, the project stores carbon in the forest biomass for a longer period and produces wood products that retain carbon for decades.

The proponent, Forestry Investment Trust (FIT), is a significant hardwood asset managed by New Forests, a leading global investment manager of nature-based real assets. FIT holds over 110,000 hectares of certified Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian Blue Gum) plantations across the region. This project highlights the integration of carbon finance into traditional commercial forestry, allowing institutional investors to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) alongside timber revenues.