A new program brings corporate funding to save city trees
SEATTLE, WA (May 17, 2019) Fishermen’s Finest, a Kirkland-based fishing company that operates vessels in the North Pacific and Bering Sea, announced last week that it advanced towards its goal of going carbon neutral with the purchase of the world’s first urban forest preservation carbon credits.
The credits were purchased from King County and certified by the Seattle-based non-profit, City Forest Credits. While there are carbon offset programs to protect rural forests, King County is the first local government in the country to offer a carbon credit program that protects city trees and urban forested areas.
City Forest Credits developed the nationally standardized units of value that companies can purchase to offset their carbon footprint. It is a pioneering approach to carbon offsets that allows companies to invest locally while providing much needed funding for city trees.
Fishermen’s Finest recently commissioned the nation’s first “green” fishing trawler. This reduced their carbon output by 66%, but the company didn’t want to stop there. They contacted City Forest Credits to explore how purchasing credits could help them meet their sustainability goal of being carbon neutral.
“Seeing firsthand the effects of climate change on the North Pacific, we felt an urgency to make a change,” said Helena Park, Founder and CEO of Fishermen’s Finest Inc. “Our new vessel is a jumpstart industry investment in clean technology and our carbon credit purchase allows us to invest in the community where we are headquartered.”
Fishermen’s Finest bought carbon credits from the County from forested land being preserved near Sammamish. Between 2009 and 2014, Washington State lost 3,350 acres per year of tree cover in its urban and community forests – equal almost to the land area of the entire city of Bellevue.
Mark McPherson, the Executive Director of City Forest Credits, said, “Our city forests need to be part of the carbon equation. Urban trees deliver environmental, social, and economic benefits where people live and work. City budgets cannot keep up with tree loss. We are excited to see Fisherman’s Finest lead the way, and other corporate citizens can join in to help keep our cities be green, healthy, and equitable through carbon credits.”
City Forest Credits has helped cities and tree-focused non-profits launch carbon programs in cities from Austin, TX to Des Moines, IA to Boise, ID, and King County, WA. Funders and buyers include Fisherman’s Finest, Microsoft, Bank of America, and the City of Austin.
About City Forest Credits
We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Seattle. Our mission is to bring the wide range of environmental benefits of trees to our cities and towns in America. We seek to make American cities greener and healthier by enabling urban tree-planting and preservation projects to earn carbon credits and generate much-needed funding for our declining urban forests. www.cityforestcredits.org
About Fishermen’s Finest
We are an independent American fishing company that operates three factory trawlers that harvest and process groundfish in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. Our products of exceptional quality, coupled with our strong commitment to stewardship and sustainable fishery resource management makes us a leader in our field. http://www.fishermensfinest.com/
MEDIA CONTACT
Natalie Cheel
206.419.8768