ESG 23 Final Single pages - Flipbook - Page 35
The winning entries were given the opportunity
to select projects that aim to prevent gases with
high greenhouse potency to be emitted into the
atmosphere. The three projects selected were:
•
Reforestation, Uganda – reforestation is an
e昀昀ective strategy for climate change mitigation
⁓ Reforestation / forest restoration is one of the
top nature-based pathways for cost-e昀昀ective
mitigation potential
⁓ While the number of reforestation projects
worldwide is increasing, project quality varies
signi昀椀cantly, and some practices actually cause
more harm than good
- Commonly planted fast-growing species such as
Eucalyptus are lucrative for timber products, but
blamed for depleting water and worsening wild昀椀res
- Researchers from UCL and University of Edinburgh
found 45% of national commitments toward
reforestation / restoration involved 'planting vast
monocultures of trees as pro昀椀table enterprises'
- A昀昀orestation (reforestation where trees were not
present before) can drain streams and warm the
earth locally by planting darker trees over lighter
grasslands
•
Biochar, Romania – by pyrolysing biomass into
biochar, CO2 is trapped in its solid form, creating a
carbon-negative cycle
⁓ Biochar is highly porous, and its highly absorptive
capacity and large surface area has many soil
bene昀椀ts including:
- Absorbing harmful pollutants from the soil
- Reducing nutrient leachate
- Increasing soil retention of nutrients
- Increasing soil water-holding capability
- Altering the physical nature of soil (e.g.
permeability) to reduce the risk of drought
•
Enhanced rock weathering programme, UK –
enhanced rock weathering accelerates the Earth’s
natural cycle of pulverising rock for permanent
carbon dioxide removal (CDR)
⁓ Silicate rocks are crushed, transported to
degraded agricultural lands or mine昀椀elds, and
spread over the 昀椀eld (similar to fertilizers)
⁓ When exposed to moisture and acidity, the
rock powder reacts with CO2 in the air and is
converted into bicarbonate ions. These minerals
further fertilize soil, improving soil health and
crop yields
ENVIRONMENT
RWS Holdings plc — ESG Report 2023
35
