VolkerWessels has selected three woodland areas throughout the Netherlands where it will take smart climate measures in the next few years: Landgoed Cleefswit in Noord-Brabant, Landgoed Schaarsbergen in Gelderland and Landgoed Het Meuleman in Overijssel.
These three FSC-certified forests have been selected because they are a good fit with VolkerWessels’ ambition to make at least 500 hectares of woodland area in the Netherlands better able to cope with the impact of climate change. The choice of forests is a result of the agreement reached with the Dutch Union of Forest Groups and FSC® Netherlands in September 2019.
In the spring of 2020 the Dutch Union of Forest Groups will start taking measures that will enable the forests to sequester more CO2, increase their biodiversity and boost the forests’ amenity value. Examples of such measures include the promotion of natural rejuvenation, underplanting with species that improve soil fertility and introducing varieties that are expected to be more resistant to climate change. Ultimately VolkerWessels plans to use the timber harvested from these forests in its construction projects.
Employee campaign
VolkerWessels is investing up to 100,000 euro in this climate-smart project. The amount consists partly of a fixed contribution from VolkerWessels and partly of a doubling by VolkerWessels of voluntary employee donations. VolkerWessels employees who want to contribute to making Dutch forests more climate-proof can donate by simply transferring an amount via the Tikkie app to the dedicated climate-proof forest page at www.volkerwessels.com/klimaatbossen.