A TREE grower is offering local businesses the chance to create a wood and do their bit for the environment.

Thorpe Trees, of Thorpe Underwood, near Ouseburn, York, is joining forces with the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) to allow businesses to off-set the damage they do to the environment through carbon emissions.

Through planting trees, companies can become carbon neutral - the carbon dioxide they emit is balanced by the amount absorbed by the trees they have planted.

Very few businesses, most of which are based in towns and cities, have the land necessary for tree planting.

Thorpe Trees and the CLA can put companies in touch with landowners who do.

Thorpe Trees director Caroline Taylor said: "Carbon pollution is one of the most important issues of the day and the writing is clearly on the wall for the introduction of some type of carbon-related business taxation.

"Our research has shown that many firms would like to take steps to offset their carbon production by planting new trees, but simply don't have the space to do it. On the other hand, there are lots of landowners in the region with areas of poor quality land that are being either under-utilised or left completely unused."

She added that Thorpe Trees would also make businesses aware of the grant-funding opportunities open to them. In some cases, she said, businesses could be eligible for grants that covered up to 50 per cent of the cost of the tree planting and landowners could also receive grants for allowing their land to be used.

Dorothy Fairburn, regional director for the CLA in Yorkshire, welcomed the partnership.

She said: "This is a brilliantly simple yet effective idea from Thorpe Trees, which we are pleased to support and promote among our 3,500 members throughout Yorkshire."

Anyone who would like to be involved in the new initiative or would like any further information, should phone the CLA on 01347 823803 or email info.yorkshire@cla.org.uk