FIT 2024 Carbon Project

FIT 2024 Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located across the Shires of Boyup Brook and Plantagenet, situated between the towns of Boyup Brook and Mount Barker, with the latter located approximately 50km north of Albany in Western Australia. It was registered on February 9, 2024, and initially covers an area of 503.96 hectares, with a project area variation recorded in November 2024 adding further land to the site.

Plantation forestry projects sequester carbon by either establishing a new plantation forest or converting an existing short-rotation plantation (often grown for woodchips or pulpwood) into a long-rotation plantation (typically grown for sawlogs). Commercial harvesting of the wood products is permitted under this methodology, with the credited carbon abatement calculated over the long-term average carbon stock of the forest as it grows and is harvested.

The surrounding region in the South West and Great Southern is a major agricultural hub known for grazing (beef and sheep), broadacre cropping (wheat and canola), and extensive commercial forestry operations, including Tasmanian blue gum and pine plantations. The local environment features a Mediterranean climate with average annual rainfall typically ranging between 500mm and 700mm. Soil types predominantly include ironstone gravels (lateritic duricrusts) as well as alluvial sandy and clay loams.

The project is run by The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as trustee for the Forestry Investment Trust. The Forestry Investment Trust is a major institutional timberland investment fund managed by New Forests, which integrates commercial timber production with the generation of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) across its Australian portfolio. On-the-ground plantation operations for the trust are frequently handled by authorised forestry property managers such as PF Olsen (Australia).