Selco Builders Warehouse has announced the creation of a fourth ‘Selco Forest’ as part of its carbon-offsetting tree-planting scheme.

Set in Lomond Hills in Fife, the latest forest to be developed by the builders' merchant covers 21 hectares and comprises more than 54,000 trees.

It means, over the last four years, Selco has planted more than 350,000 trees as part of its commitment to delivering a sustainable future for the business, its customers and staff. 

The forest in Fife will capture 2,938 tonnes of carbon over its life cycle, with management, thinning and harvesting of the woodland bringing an employment and economic boost to the area where it is set.

The tree-planting project sits alongside a wide range of policies to help Selco reduce its carbon footprint, including introducing alternative fuel vehicles to its transport fleet, a comprehensive recycling strategy, the installation of LED lighting, and a new gas management system installed across the branch network.

Howard Luft, Selco Chief Executive, said: “This is an exciting move forward in our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and demonstrates our commitment to playing our part in tackling climate change.

“As a business, we are fully committed to lowering our carbon footprint and the latest addition to the ‘Selco Forests’ portfolio will help further offset the carbon generated from our customer deliveries, promoting a greener future for the business.”

The trees planted on the new Fife site include sitka spruce and scots pine. Once ready to harvest, it is calculated that the woodland is expected to yield roughly 7,000 tonnes of timber.

Selco has two forest sites in Jedburgh and one near Llandrindod Wells in Wales.