Changes to your project or group of projects

1. Change of project developer  

This guidance is for landowners wishing to change the project developer managing their Woodland Carbon Code project/group. In cases where the landowner has signed a proof of right with a project developer, please contact info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk for further guidance before proceeding.

The landowner/project developer should complete the online project administration form and send the following documents to info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk:  

If your project is under development:

• Email confirmation from the account manager of the outgoing project developer, agreeing to the project transfer
• Email confirmation from the account manager of the incoming project developer, agreeing to the project transfer

If your project is already validated: 

• Updated communications agreement (if required)
• Email confirmation from the account manager of the outgoing project developer, agreeing to the project transfer and nullification of previous communications agreement
• Email confirmation from the account manager of the incoming project developer, agreeing to the project transfer

The Woodland Carbon Code and registry teams will review these documents before uploading them to the registry. These documents remain private.  

The registry team will transfer the project and any associated units. 

2. Change of landowner  

After validation, if your Woodland Carbon Code project has had a change in landowner due to property sale or inheritance, please let us know as soon as possible.  

The outgoing landowner/project developer should complete the project administration form and send the following documents to info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk:

• Evidence of the change in landowner (land sale contract, title deed, etc)
• Updated commitment statement
• Updated contact details form
• Updated communications agreement and / or
• If a proof of right exists, a statement from the incoming landowner confirming they are aware of the existing proof of right agreement

The Woodland Carbon Code and registry teams will review these documents before uploading them to the registry. These documents remain private.

The commitment statement and contact details will be third-party reviewed at the next verification.  

If the project is remaining in the original registry account, no further action is required. If the project also needs to be transferred to a new project developer account, see ‘change of project developer’.   

3. Change of tenant

After validation, if your Woodland Carbon Code project has had a change in tenant, please let us know as soon as possible.

The landowner/project developer should complete the project administration form and send the following documents to info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk:

• Evidence of the change in tenancy (contract, etc)
• Updated contact details form (with updated tenant details)
• Updated commitment statement (with updated signature from tenant)

And (if applicable):

• Updated communications agreement and/ or
• If a proof of right exists, a statement from the incoming tenant confirming they are aware of the existing proof of right agreement

The Woodland Carbon Code and registry teams will review these documents before uploading them to the registry. These documents remain private. 

The commitment statement and contact details will be third-party reviewed at the next verification. 

4. Removing a project from the UK Land Carbon Registry

If your project is no longer continuing as a carbon project, please complete the online project administration form to let us know that you would like us to remove it from the UK Land Carbon Registry.

We will mark your project, any Pending Issuance Units and unsold Woodland Carbon Units as ‘not delivered’.

If works have already begun on site (i.e. your implementation date has passed), it will not be possible to re-register your project once it is removed from the registry.

5. Changes to the structure of a group

This guidance is for projects wishing to amend the structure of an existing group or form a new group for the purpose of validation or verification. There are different processes for projects under development and projects which are validated.

If your project is under development: 

If you would like to move a project into or out of a group, the landowner/project developer should complete the online project administration form.

The Woodland Carbon Code team will review the request and submit it to the registry team to move projects into or out of groups on the registry.

If your group is already validated:

Once projects are grouped for a validation or verification, the grouping should ideally remain the same for each subsequent verification, but we recognise that there may be occasions where this is not possible.

However, if a group has ‘pooled’ carbon across several landowners, then there should be no changes to the group structure. See 1.7 project size and grouping. 

If a group has not ‘pooled’ carbon across several landowners, then the following changes to group structure are possible:

Projects leaving a group

If a project wishes to leave a validated group, the project developer should complete the online project administration form to confirm the change to group structure.

The single project will be moved out of the group on the registry but will retain the ‘group documents’ (i.e. project design document and validation statement). Registry comments will explain the change in structure.

If the group had a group agreement, the group manager should confirm its cancellation.  

New groups for verification 

Ideally, groups will be formed before validation, but it is also possible to form a group for verification. If a group is formed for verification, the project start dates within the group should be within two years of each other (this also means their verifications will be due within two years of each other).

• The new group start date will be the latest start date within the group.
• The units for your projects will have different vintage dates, but the next verification due date will be based on the new group start date.
• Each individual project will remain responsible for delivery of its carbon units.

Subject to group rules, the new group could include:

• Combining single projects into a group
• Adding a single project to an existing group or
• Combining groups

If a project wishes to form a group for verification, they should complete the online project administration form to confirm the change to group structure. 

The projects will be added to a group on the registry and will retain their individual project documents. Registry comments will explain the change in structure. 

If there is an existing group agreement, the landowners should confirm its cancellation.

If there are significant changes to a project design, it may need to undergo partial revalidation. This could be due to:

• A significant change to the area or management of the project or
• The ownership of a project being split between different owners  

Any changes to the area or management of a project could result in:

• A variation to the carbon prediction (in which case some carbon units issued could be marked ‘not delivered’) or
• The partial revalidation being unsuccessful (in which case the project and any carbon units issued will be marked ‘not delivered’)

Additionality will not be re-assessed during a partial revalidation. 

1. Significant change to project area or management 

If there is potentially a loss of Woodland Carbon Units or Pending Issuance Units which are sold, the project developer should submit a loss report to info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk. Buffer units may be put on hold and your project will be reviewed at the next verification. For further guidance, see 2.3 management of risks and permanence.

If there is a significant reduction to the project area or management which is unlikely to result in a loss of carbon units, the project developer should email info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk for advice on next steps. 

2. Splitting a project between different owners  

This guidance is for Woodland Carbon Code projects looking to split the area of their project due to land parcel sale or inheritance. There are different processes for projects under development and projects which are validated.  

If your project is under development:

Step 1: Contact info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk to explain the change to your project.

Step 2: The landowner/project developer will submit new projects as under development for each component of the project and email info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk to confirm this step is complete. You will include:

• New carbon calculators reflecting the split in project area
• New maps reflecting the split in project area

New documents should be the current version. 

Step 3: The Woodland Carbon Code team will review the documents and submit them to the registry team to update the new projects on the registry.

Once complete, the original project will be marked ‘not delivered’, with commentary/reference to the new project names and IDs.

If your project is already validated:

Step 1: The project developer should  

• Email info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk to explain the change to your project.   
• Ask the original validator to quote for a partial revalidation given the change in circumstances.

If you have not sold carbon units yet, they will be split between projects according to the updated carbon calculations.  

If the landowner has already sold carbon units from their project (to the project developer or to other market participants) the Woodland Carbon Code team will discuss with you how you plan to split responsibility for delivering these units.
 
Step 2: The project developer should set up new projects on the registry with new unique names and project IDs for each component of the project. These names/IDs will be used in updated documentation. The project description should reference the original project name and ID and explain the split.

Step 3: The landowner or project developer should prepare the following documents and send them to info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk:

• New project design documents reflecting the split in project area
• New carbon calculators reflecting the split in project area
• New maps reflecting the split in project area
• New woodland benefit tools reflecting the split in project area
• Commitment statements from all landowners/tenants
• Contact detail forms from all landowners/tenants
• If you had a communications agreement previously, a new communications agreement from each landowner 

New documents should be the current version. 

Step 4: The Woodland Carbon Code team will digitalise the project maps to ensure the split areas match the original project size. All other documents will be sent to the validation/verification bodies with confirmation that project areas are correct.

Step 5: The validation/verification bodies will review the split projects and issue new validation statements for each new project. 

Step 6: The Woodland Carbon Code team will review the documents, validation statements and communications agreements and submit them to the registry team to update the new projects on the registry.

Once complete, the original project will be marked ‘not delivered’, with commentary/reference to the new project names and IDs.  

Any credits from the original project will be transferred to the new projects in proportion to the updated carbon calculators.