Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on April 02, 2025, 11:57 AM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize wooden cities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Nippon Paper Industries and Kosai City, Shizuoka Prefecture, signed an "Agreement on Sustainable Forestry Cooperation" on March 27. The agreement calls for the formulation of a sustainable forest management plan centered on thinning of cedar and cypress planted forests in the city's forestation lands under a divisional revenue contract (Kosai divisional revenue forest). The plan aims to generate J-credits by increasing CO2 absorption through thinning, and to use them to offset local GHG emissions in support of Kosai City's "Zero Carbon City" declaration.
The core of the agreement is the promotion of CO2 absorption through the implementation of thinning of cedar and cypress plantation forests in the Kosai Subculture Forest (207.69 ha). The certification period is set for 16 years, from July 16, 2024 to March 31, 2040, and the project is expected to generate approximately 12,000 t-CO2 credits based on the FO-001 (normal type) method. The company explains that the project will cover an area of 100.47 ha, and will contribute to Nippon Paper Industries' target J-credit registration plan of a cumulative total of 200,000 t-CO2 from FY2024 to FY2027.
The J-credits generated will be used to offset GHG emissions to achieve Kosai's goal of zero carbon. Offsetting CO2 emissions from civic life and local industry presents a concrete model for contributing to the realization of carbon neutrality at the local government level. The project is attracting attention as an advanced effort to balance decarbonization measures and local economies through forest management.
The concept was developed not only through collaboration between Nippon Paper Industries and Kosai City, but also with the support of the Shizuoka Financial Group (which has already concluded a "Mutual Cooperation and Collaboration Agreement for the Promotion of Carbon Neutrality" with Kosai City). In addition, the plan has been made a reality by bringing together a variety of resources, including the use of digital resources such as laser navigation data acquired through Shizuoka Prefecture's "Forest Power Revitalization Project" and thinning by the Hikisa Town Forestry Association, which is responsible for forest maintenance.
The carbon neutrality of local contributions could serve as a pioneering example of a decarbonization collaboration model between local governments and companies throughout Japan. Nippon Paper Industries is keen to expand cooperation with local governments while promoting the registration of credits in its own company-owned forests.
