More than 50,000 native broadleaf trees due to be planted in Sligo and Leitrim

More than 50,000 native broadleaf trees are due to be planted, creating new native woodlands in counties Sligo and Leitrim, with further projects planned in 2021.
The first stage of Virgin Media’s commitment to climate change is expected to be complete in early 2021.
The group is focused on sustainable innovation across a broad range of areas, including energy consumption, emissions, waste reduction, energy efficient products and increased use of recycled materials.
Minister of State with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity, senator Pippa Hackett joined Peter McCarthy, vice president of legal and corporate affairs at Virgin Media, and Joe Codd, director of business development at Veon, to announce details of Virgin Media’s Low Carbon Pledge as they group announced its tree planting partnership with Veon.
Welcoming Virgin Media’s latest initiative, Minister Hackett, said: ‘This is a great initiative by Virgin Media in partnership with Veon.
“Trees are a precious natural asset, and woodlands and forests will play an important role in Ireland’s efforts to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Native woodlands also have a key role to play in habitats and biodiversity support.
“The Government’s target for new afforestation is approximately 22 million trees per year, or 440 million trees by 2040, and efforts through corporate responsibility programmes will be hugely important in achieving these targets.
“Sustainability initiatives, including investment in native woodlands, building on the Woodland Environmental Fund and the Woodland Creation on Public Land schemes are welcome developments, further contributing to the achievement of these goals.”
Peter McCarthy, vice president of legal and corporate affairs at Virgin Media, said: ‘We all know urgent action is needed to tackle climate change. Virgin Media has already made great progress and now we’re accelerating our initiatives to contribute directly to Ireland’s climate action targets.
“We’re excited about continuously building a more environmentally sustainable company that’s why we committed to the BITC Low Carbon Pledge where signature companies commit to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
“Today’s forestry announcement will deliver a reduction of approximately 12,000 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of the forest with additional projects planned in 2021.’