West Midlands tree market demand and supply assessment

Descriptions

In June 2019, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) declared a climate emergency and the WMCA Board agreed a target for the region to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2041. A 'green paper' (#wm2041 ) was written to indicate how the region could take action in order to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2041. This was approved by the Combined Authority Board in January 2020 for consultation until 12th March 2020. To set out a clear route to achieving the #wm2041 ambition the 5 Year Plan was published in 2021 and this sets out key priorities for delivery of Net Zero. The evidence for the Five Year Plan indicates that forestry cover should be increased from approximately 1.5% today to 13%, aligning as much as possible with the long-term aims for England (this equates to planting an additional 5.7m trees by 2026 and 19m by 2041, the WMCA's target date for net zero). Further to this in response to the 25 year plan the UK government has also set a target of planting 30,000 ha of woodland per year in this parliament and other wider regional tree planting initiatives are in development. The evolution of the mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain compensation market and the voluntary carbon offset market also creates further requirements for trees across the region. Following the #wm2041 and 5 Year Plan reports the WMCA published its Natural Environment Plan in September 2021. This plan sets out a range of actions around promoting the planting of trees across the region including the scoping of the need and potential locations for West Midlands tree nurseries to supply to local and regional market. It is in light of the above targets and the growing need for tree stock to supply such strategies the WMCA are seeking to commission consultants to complete a research project to scope the demand, supply and potential delivery options relating to a tree nursery / tree nurseries in the West Midlands. This Market engagement exercise invites suppliers to express an interest in any future tender process by completing the expression of interest questionnaire. Please note: Participation in the market engagement exercise is not a mandatory requirement for participating in any future procurement.