GPSJ - SUMMER 2023 - Flipbook - Page 7
LOCAL AUTHORITY & COUNCIL
GPSJ
North-West based Positive BioCarbon
looks to partner with local authorities
to bring sustainable solution to carbon
capture in bid to hit net zero targets
North-West-based Positive
BioCarbon is seeking to
partner with local authorities
across the UK to help fight
climate change and hit net
zero targets through the use of
biochar, an easily accessible
and usable product that can
capture carbon and re-fertilise
poor, low-quality soil for crop
growth.
According to the Office of National
Statistics, 66% of people feel it is
imperative businesses do more
to help customers reduce their
own impact on climate change.
In addition, 95% of UK local
authorities have declared a climate
emergency, and two-thirds of
councils in England are actively
working to be carbon neutral by
2030 but emphasise that net zero
targets can only be achieved if
every household, businesses, and
communities work together.
Biochar is a charcoal-like
substance made through a
controlled process called pyrolysis
that converts organic biomass
waste into stable soil carbon.
For every tonne of Biochar,
three tonnes of atmospheric
CO2 are captured, and carbon
is permanently stored when
sequestered in soils or building
materials. Biochar effectively
stores carbon for hundreds of
years in the ground, and today is
one of the most promising nearterm commercially viable carbon
removal approaches.
This ancient technology, first
used by indigenous tribes in the
Amazon basin to make the soil
fertile, is based around charcoal
utilising a material often referred
to as ‘char’ – a process where
organic material is carbonised
under high temperatures, without
oxygen.
James MacPhail, a Biochar
consultant for Positive BioCarbon,
said, “Industry and academia
have been applying biochar to
a huge variety of soils, crops,
agroforestry, and substrates
applications for years. As such,
Biochar is generally viewed as a
soil improvement tool that can
sequester carbon whilst improving
soil health by retaining nutrients
and water.”
Positive BioCarbon is already
working with Lancashire County
Council at two separate sites
in the North-West of England:
Chisnall Hall, near Chorley, and
Midgeland Farm, near Blackpool.
A total of six hectares of farmland
will be used throughout the
pilot programme. In just 10-13
years, these sites could lock as
much CO2 into the ground as a
broadleaf woodland of the same
size could in 50 years.
“Every country, every business,
and every local governing
authority has carbon reduction
targets to meet - Biochar could be
a powerful tool in climate action to
achieve these goals.”
For more information on how
to work with Positive BioCarbon,
contact:
sales@positivebiocarbon.com
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SPRING 2023
7
