Solar in large afforestation project, planting 1.5 million trees

Solar has acquired land in Latvia for afforestation, with the ambition to plant 1.5 million trees within the next three years.

Solar, a leading European sourcing and services company within among others climate and energy solutions, has acquired 677 hectares of land in Latvia for afforestation. The project is part of Solar's commitment to sustainability with an aim to become net-zero in its own operations by 2030 and to reduce its CO2e by 25% across the value chain.

“As a responsible company, Solar aspires to run a business that gives back to nature. We are a company that acts instead of just talking, and we have already established a forest of 116,000 trees near our head quarter”, says Jens Andersen, CEO of Solar. “Following our strategy, we have now acquired 677 hectares of land in Latvia, of which 430 hectares are suitable for afforestation with 1.5 million trees within the next three years.”

Being a European based company, the location of the land for afforestation in Latvia was chosen due to its closeness. Furthermore, a weighty argument for the location in the Baltics is the favourable opportunities for afforestation in this area with good protection of classified forest, being certified, biobased, and resilient to biological threats.

“We are excited to put our words into action and contribute to protecting the planet through afforestation”, adds Mette Bredkjær, Director Sustainability. “The relative closeness of the land to our entities allows us to be part of the development of the forest. With a business case of 60 years, this afforestation is a long term engagement in nature. Improving biodiversity and contributing to a better climate is paramount. However, the CO2e uptake of the trees can also later be used as climate compensation in Solar's climate accounting.”

The forest is established in collaboration with HD Forest, a forest management company within the Baltics, and the forest will be FSC certified.