Press Releases

NFF Teams With Chevy on Carbon Offset Project

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) is proud to announce a new Carbon Capital Fund partnership with Chevrolet Motor Company. This exciting project will result in the planting of 112,500 Engelmann spruce trees on 250 acres of the San Juan National Forest near Durango, in southwestern Colorado, in the fall of 2011. This innovative partnership is the latest example of how the NFF’s Carbon Capital Fund (CCF) program fosters reforestation of National Forests through carbon offset purchases. In 2007, the NFF recognized that National Forests play a critical role in sequestering the carbon dioxide emissions generated in the United States. In an effort to expand the role that the National Forest System plays in sequestering carbon, the NFF, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, developed the CCF.

This unique program allows the NFF to provide non-tradeable, non-compliance, voluntary carbon offsets to companies like Chevrolet, in exchange for reforestation of public lands. As the trees are planted, grow and mature, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and, through photosynthesis, turn it into carbon and oxygen. The oxygen is respirated into the atmosphere and the carbon is incorporated into the tree’s woody structure.  While these CCF projects are driven by the purchase of carbon offsets, reforestation offers a host of additional benefits to the American public, from clean water and air, to improved wildlife habitat, to better recreation opportunities and enhanced aesthetics.

NFF President Bill Possiel said, “Chevy’s investment in reforestation on the San Juan National Forest is ensuring the recovery of an area that would not otherwise regenerate trees in our lifetime. The project provides measurable emissions reductions and directly benefits a resource the American public owns. Through this partnership, Chevy is helping the National Forest Foundation protect America’s backyard.” 

The San Juan project is undergoing strict screening and certification review by the American Carbon Registry, where it will be listed as a registered carbon project, and further independent review by the validation/verification body, Scientific Certification Systems. This review ensures that carbon offsets are real, verifiable, and additional. The San Juan project is part of a larger effort by Chevrolet to offset 8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next few years.

“Now that we’re committed to 16 diversified projects, we are fortified in our support of community-based, carbon-reduction initiatives,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Global Marketing and Strategy. “It’s fulfilling to back organizations working toward building a cleaner, more-secure energy future.”

In addition to the carbon project, Chevy is working with the NFF to plant up to 175,000 trees on six National Forests across the country as part of a social media and marketing partnership to engage Americans in their larger carbon reduction efforts. The “Chevrolet Tree Project” is a social media application for Facebook that encourages folks to plant a virtual tree. For each virtual tree planted on Facebook, Chevrolet and the NFF will plant a real tree, up to 175,000, on a National Forest requiring reforestation.

“We are very excited about both the San Juan carbon demonstration project and the Chevrolet Tree Project,” said Greg Peters, NFF development program coordinator. “Through these two initiatives, Chevrolet and the NFF will plant nearly 300,000 trees on National Forests across America, benefiting America’s National Forests for generations to come.”

 Across the United States, the Forest Service estimates that more than 2 million acres of National Forests decimated by wildfires and natural disasters require reforestation. Meanwhile, budgetary limitations and increasingly extensive fire seasons have reduced the Forest Service’s ability to reforest these public lands. The NFF, through the CCF and other tree planting initiatives, promotes the reforestation of these lands by encouraging private contributions. With millions of carbon-absorbing trees planted to date, the NFF is proud to provide the opportunity for the American public to take positive action that provides multiple benefits.  To learn more, please visit www.nationalforests,org, or contact Greg Peters at gpeters@nationalforests.org or 406-830-3361.