‘[This reforestation scheme] could be a major contributor to developing our green finance industry, underpin the island’s green credentials and mitigate the island’s business carbon footprint.’
The Environmental & Social Impact Monitor was established by Mr Laine to develop Guernsey as a leading centre for green and sustainable business and finance. It awards and accredits organisations using an internationally benchmarked environmental framework.
Long-term, one of the ambitions is to be able to sell the product internationally once the reputation of a gold standard scheme has been achieved with the work of local professionals.
He added: ‘We love the idea of creating something in the name of Guernsey and William Le Lacheur [so] that forever there’s a piece of Guernsey in Costa Rica that both businesses and citizens have contributed to.’
Also at the meeting was lawyer Claire Smith who has over 20 years of experience in environmental law, founder and managing director of Innovest Advisory, Justin Sykes, auditor for EY and keen environmentalist, Jordan Tostevin, former civil servant Jon Buckland and Aspida Group joint-chairperson Wayne Bulpitt, all of whom were in support of establishing a reforestation team.
Mr Bulpitt said he was delighted to be able to work with His Excellency and ESI Monitor to investigate commercial opportunities to develop products and services in this area.
After the meeting, Mr Laine said the talks were incredibly positive and an agreement was reached on some of the next steps.