TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE AND SAVING KOALAS: KPMG FIRST TO INVEST IN UNIQUE CARBON CREDITS THAT DELIVER FOR NATURE

First koala found among Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative plantings

Leading professional services firm KPMG Australia is funding climate action and helping save koalas from extinction by purchasing the first 18,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) issued to the Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative.

The ACCUs were made available as part of stage one of the Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative which involved 177,800 trees being planted across 135 hectares on five private properties in northern NSW.

In recognition of the initiative’s unique benefits to koalas and nature, KPMG is paying a premium for the high integrity carbon.

In addition to biodiversity improvements, the premium is boosting First Nations engagement to care for Country with Indigenous partners employed to deliver and maintain plantings.

The Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative is a collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia and leading carbon farming service provider, Climate Friendly, supported by the NSW Government and HP Inc.

“Koala Friendly Carbon is one of the highest integrity carbon initiatives the world has seen. We believe that the market will pay a premium for a quality product,” said Tanya Pritchard, Senior Manager Koala Recovery and Landscape Restoration, WWF-Australia.

“With KPMG onboard, we’re hoping to attract more investors in Koala Friendly Carbon to expand koala plantings across 10,000ha. By scaling up habitat restoration we can save the koala from extinction,” she said.

“KPMG is proud to be the first to purchase these carbon credits that support climate action and restore vital habitats for koalas and other endangered species. This initiative reaffirms our commitment to sustainability and funding meaningful environmental change and is an example of how businesses can better participate in and promote environmental stewardship within their communities," said KPMG CEO Andrew Yates.

“It’s wonderful to see recognition of the impact of such a world-leading landscape restoration project to protect an iconic Australian marsupial from extinction. We need to urgently scale up Koala Friendly Carbon to protect koalas and other threatened species, while tackling climate change by drawing down CO₂ from the atmosphere into maturing new forests,” said Skye Glenday, Co-CEO of Climate Friendly.

Launched in 2022, the innovative initiative began by planting trees on degraded land in northern NSW – a known hotspot for endangered koalas and other threatened native species.

Some of the trees are already more than three metres high and are creating corridors to reconnect fragmented habitat and enable koalas to move safely through the landscape.

Growing biodiverse havens for koalas will be key to preventing their predicted extinction by 2050, along the east coast of Australia.

Plantings are designed so that land managers earn money from the sale of carbon credits, while undertaking best- practice sustainable farming on their properties. This ensures income remains within local communities.

Extensive planning to ensure a high success rate for tree plantings, and follow-up processes to validate effectiveness, sets it apart from other schemes. To verify koalas are benefiting from the plantings, WWF-Australia has developed an accredited method, including scat surveys to measure koala activity levels.

Banyula Farm in Clunes is one of the initial properties in the Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative.

“In 2022, this was a quiet paddock with not much sign of life. Nearly 30 varieties of trees were planted. They're all thriving in their own way and life is flourishing in the forest environment. It's incredible,” said Banyula farm manager Matt Bleakley.

After a successful pilot, Stage 2 of the Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative has been scaled up with more trees to be planted over a larger area.

The initiative now includes the Northern Tablelands and Snowy Monaro regions. On five properties, 289,000 trees will be planted across 573 hectares during Stage 2.