Stafford Capital Partners, the independent private markets investment and advisory firm, estimates that its global timberland portfolio sequestered 17.4 million gross tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) during 2025, according to its sixth annual sustainability report, published on 19 October.
The London-based firm, which says it had $9bn in assets under management and advice as at 30 September 2026, said 387,000 hectares, or 12% of the timberland portfolio’s land area, is designated as formal conservation area, and that 97% of the portfolio’s forest area is certified.
The sequestration figure is a gross estimate produced by Stafford’s internal carbon model. The firm’s accompanying climate disclosure, prepared under the framework of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), shows that once carbon in harvested wood (6.43 million tonnes) and the decomposition of harvesting residues (5.04 million tonnes) are counted as emissions, the portfolio’s net biogenic removal for 2025 was 5.93 million tonnes. Non-land-based emissions added a further 309,000 tonnes.
Stafford said its inaugural afforestation strategy is now generating carbon credits from underlying forestry assets, giving investors exposure to carbon-related returns alongside traditional timberland returns.
In their introduction to the report, chief executive Angus Whiteley and head of sustainability Marta Jankovic set the firm’s approach against a backdrop of trade disputes and energy market disruption. “We recognise ourselves as a middle power, wedded to the idea of cooperation as a path to improved outcomes,” they wrote. “We are clear on our values and our long term adherence to them.”
Operational emissions down 29%
The firm’s own operational footprint fell to 613.9 tonnes of CO2e in 2025, a 29% reduction on 2024, according to the TCFD report. Business travel, mostly long-haul flights, accounted for 84% of the total and fell by 33% year on year.
Stafford attributed most of the travel reduction to updated emission factors from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which reflect a recovery in airline load factors, and to a shift away from business and first-class travel. Total air travel distance rose by 6% during the year, it said. Operational emissions per full-time employee were 53% below the firm’s 2019 baseline, against a goal of a 20% reduction by 2030.
The firm’s financed emissions, those attributable to its investments, are far larger. Scope 1 and 2 financed emissions totalled about 291,570 tonnes of CO2e in 2025, with infrastructure accounting for 60%, and scope 3 financed emissions came to about 1.05 million tonnes. Stafford said absolute financed emissions fell in both its infrastructure and private equity strategies compared with 2024, helped by greater exposure to renewable energy in its most recent infrastructure funds and the sale of higher-emitting assets.
Mixed progress on 2030 targets
Stafford has been a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative since 2021 and said it reaffirmed its support when the initiative relaunched with an updated commitment in early 2026. It has set interim 2030 targets for the share of assets in what it calls “financing transition”, meaning investments that provide climate solutions or are aligned with net zero. The targets are 33% for timberland, 50% for infrastructure and 40% for eligible private equity.
The report shows uneven progress. Timberland alignment rose from 9.2% in 2024 to 11.6% in 2025 and private equity from 10.3% to 11.2%, but infrastructure alignment fell from 32.7% to 27%. The reports do not set out a reason for the infrastructure decline. Stafford said that during 2026 it updated its interim target coverage after reviewing industry guidance, portfolio developments and client mandates, and that the targets now cover 80% of assets under management and advice.
Repowering push in Italy
The report coincides with an expansion of Stafford’s infrastructure business. The firm has launched a dedicated renewable energy repowering strategy, known as STAR, after integrating a specialist team in Italy, and opened an office in Milan. Angelo Prete, partner and lead of the repowering strategy, has joined the firm’s sustainability committee.
According to the report, a solar project in one of Stafford’s existing infrastructure portfolios completed a revamping and repowering programme that is expected to deliver an estimated 45% increase in installed capacity and a 77% increase in renewable energy production. The firm did not name the project or give its size.
Stafford said it contributed a case study of one of its solar portfolios to the Physical Climate Risk Appraisal Methodology developed by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, through a partnership with the IIGCC and the insurance broker Howden. The firm said the work was subsequently referenced in publications by the European Commission and the UK Climate Financial Risk Forum.
Timberland awards and manager engagement
The firm said it received six Agri Investor awards in 2026, including “Deal of the Year” for Project Olympic Rainforest, a 68,000-acre timberland investment designed to deliver timber returns alongside carbon, biodiversity and community benefits.
Stafford also completed its second cycle of environmental, social and governance data collection from the external managers it invests with. Engagement has covered about 80% of its infrastructure managers over the past two cycles, and ESG data disclosure by its underlying private equity managers rose by more than 40%, according to the report.
Timberland remains central to the business. In December 2025, IPE Real Assets reported that Stafford had merged three of its core timberland funds into a $1.2bn perpetual continuation vehicle holding 74 assets across the US, New Zealand, Australia and Latin America, with UK local government pension funds representing 54% of the fund’s capital.
Founded in 2000, Stafford invests in timberland, infrastructure and private equity for more than 150 institutional clients and now has 95 professionals across seven offices, according to the company. It has been a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment since 2010. Companies House records show Stafford Capital Partners Limited was incorporated in 2003 and was named Stafford Timberland Limited between 2005 and 2015. The firm is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 225586.
