John Sisk & Son has partnered on a tree planting site in Skibbereen, Co Cork, as part of its commitment to planting 1.7 million trees by 2029, one of the targets of the Sisk 2030 Sustainability Roadmap, aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Sisk 2030 Sustainability Roadmap
Sinéad Hickey, Head of Sustainability, Ireland & Europe, John Sisk & Son, said, “We are delighted to have partnered with the landowner, SWS Forestry and the WEF Scheme through the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine in Co Cork. We have a target to plant 1.7 million trees by 2029, which forms a part of the Sisk 2030 Sustainability Roadmap. This is an important step in our journey and demonstrates our commitment to a range of sustainability topics our company and wider industry need to address.”
Michael Connelly, SWS Forestry, commented, “We are delighted to be involved with Sisk in this WEF initiative. We see exciting times ahead for private forestry with the introduction of the new forestry programme, with vastly improved grants and premiums. And with companies like Sisk also coming on board with additional financial incentives, it really should help us in our battle against climate change.”
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021–2030 the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. Sisk has acknowledged this call to action and recognised the need for a massive acceleration in the global restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems and the positive impact this would have on the climate crisis, biodiversity, food security and water supply.
By planting this native woodland, the landowner has demonstrated commitment to the sustainable management of forestry and native woodlands in Ireland. This will also support Ireland’s plan to tackle climate change by planting 440 million trees by 2040.
The planting was run by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine through an establishment grant and 20 annual premium payments.