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Carb Elfs
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Ásmundur Skeggjason · Owneras@hofdi.is+354 895 3000

ÍslenskaEnglish
A planter celebrating on the heath

Certified carbon sequestration through forestry

Nature’s solution to carbon emissions

View on the Carbon Registry

Certified and registered Forest Carbon Code, Enviance, International Carbon Registry

This forest isn’t a promise. It’s already in the ground.

1,041,852

trees planted

Planted by year
2022
414,132
2023
196,829
2024–2025
430,891

The official count of autumn 2023 plus 430,891 seedlings on Álfadalur/Álfheimar according to its validation report, replacement planting included. Planting there finished on 31 May 2025.

Sources: Official count, autumn 2023 · Álfadalur/Álfheimar validation report, 2026

Planted on land we own.

Skógálfar owns all the land the trees stand on, south of Laugarvatn.

Laugarvatn 9 kmÞingvellir 24 kmReykjavík 60 km

Distances as the crow fliesOpen in maps

Third-party certification

Verified by third parties, not by us

We plant the forest. Others set the rules, check the work and keep the record of the units. All three of our projects are certified under the Forest Carbon Code.

  1. 01Sets the rules

    Forest Carbon Code

    Land og skógur’s standard for carbon capture in new forests, the only one of its kind in Iceland.

    Among its rules: the land must have been treeless for at least 25 years, and 20% of units are set aside as a buffer.

    skogarkolefni.is
  2. 02Checks the work

    Enviance

    An outside validation body, accredited to ISO 14065, checked Álfabrekka in 2024 and Álfadalur/Álfheimar in 2026 and published a report on each.

    Álfabrekka’s report is based on a site visit on 15 June 2023, and Álfadalur/Álfheimar’s on a site visit on 9 February 2026.

  3. 03Keeps the record

    International Carbon Registry

    All three projects are listed there, Álfabrekka as no. 57 since 9 February 2024.

    The registry issues the units on a public ledger, the Polygon blockchain, so anyone can trace when they are issued, change hands and are retired, that is, used for offsetting.

    Pending units can change hands, but can’t be retired until they are verified.

    Álfabrekka on the public ledger
    Check it yourself on the registry

    Source: Carbon Registry documentation

Documents

Everything out in the open

The projects’ afforestation plans, carbon forecasts and validation reports are published here in full, along with maps and land parcel plans. Read the sources behind the figures.

Our projects

Three projects, four parcels

Three certified projects on four adjoining parcels of heathland in Grímsnes, drawn from the surveyed boundaries. Álfadalur and Álfheimar are registered together as one project.

  • Skógálfar project
  • Not a Skógálfar carbon project

Álfabrekka

52,120 t CO₂e

Carbon forecast, 50 years · Validated forecast

Area
100 ha97 ha planted
Planted
252,000 seedlings2022 · count, autumn 2023
Registry
ICR 57 Forest Carbon Code FCC057

Álfabrekka: 140 of 589 football pitches

Each cell is one football pitch (105 × 68 m) of the three projects’ land.

Sources: Final forecast 2023 · Count, autumn 2023 · Project description (PDD) · Boundary map, Dec 2023 · Land no. 233248

Álfaskeið

69,257 t CO₂e

Carbon forecast, 50 years · Final forecast 2023

Area
141.5 ha130 ha in the forecast
Planted
358,961 seedlings2022–2023 · count, autumn 2023
Registry
ICR 127 Validation body: Enviance

Álfaskeið: 198 of 589 football pitches

Each cell is one football pitch (105 × 68 m) of the three projects’ land.

Sources: Final forecast 2023 · Count, autumn 2023 · Boundary map, Dec 2023 · Land no. 233749

Álfadalur/Álfheimar

65,279 t CO₂e

Carbon forecast, 50 years · Validated forecast

Area
179.4 ha155 ha planted
Planted
430,891 seedlingsFinished May 2025 · incl. replanting
Registry
ICR 413 Forest Carbon Code FCC413

Álfadalur/Álfheimar: 251 of 589 football pitches

Each cell is one football pitch (105 × 68 m) of the three projects’ land.

Sources: Validation report 2026 · Project description (PDD) · EIA notification · Boundary map, Dec 2023 · Land no. 236324, 236615

In perspective

3,733186,656t CO₂e

One average year of those forecasts: 186,656 ÷ 50Carbon forecast for all three projects, each over its own 50 years

  • ÁlfabrekkaValidated forecast1,04252,120 t
  • ÁlfaskeiðFinal forecast 20231,38569,257 t
  • Álfadalur/ÁlfheimarValidated forecast1,30665,279 t

How much is that, really?

Few people have a feel for numbers this big. Here the three projects’ 50-year forecasts are set beside things we know, as one average year or all 50.

As a gas, one year of it would fill a cube 124 m on each side, taller than HallgrímskirkjaAs a gas, it would fill a cube 455 m on each side, taller than the Empire State Building

CO₂ at 0 °C and 1 atm weighs 1.977 kg/m³. 50 years: 94,400,000 m³, a cube 455 m on each side. One year: 1,888,000 m³, 124 m. Hallgrímskirkja is 74.5 m tall, the Empire State Building 443 m to the tip.

As much as about 12,000 passengers emit flying to Copenhagen and backAs much as about 620,000 passengers emit flying to Copenhagen and back

Each line is 4,000 passengers

Keflavík–Copenhagen and back in economy: 0.2985 t CO₂ per passenger, 2 × 2,142 km (CO₂ only). 186,656 ÷ 0.2985 ≈ 625,313; 3,733.1 ÷ 0.2985 ≈ 12,506. Rounded down.

The capture grows with the forest, peaking in 2053

Forecast capture per year, all three projects, t CO₂e 199 t in 2025, peaking at 6,230 t in 2053, and 1,071 t in 2074.
  • Álfabrekka, counted from 2027
  • Álfaskeið, counted from 2028
  • Álfadalur/Álfheimar, counted from 2025

Álfabrekka and Álfaskeið leave their first five years out as a precaution. Álfadalur/Álfheimar’s forecast counts them.

Yearly figures for Álfabrekka and Álfaskeið are from their final forecasts (2023, pp. 8–9). Álfadalur/Álfheimar’s validation report gives seven periods, not years (pp. 23–24); each period is spread evenly over its years, from 2025. The years add up to 52,122 · 69,259 · 65,279 t; the sources round each year.

After the 20% buffer, about 149,000 t of the three forecasts can be used for offsetting. The rest is held back until each project ends, 2071–2074.

Sources: Álfabrekka final forecast, 2023 · Álfaskeið final forecast, 2023 · Álfadalur/Álfheimar validation report, 2026 · NIST, CO₂ density · Vísindavefurinn · Empire State Building · ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator, 2026 . Accessed 28 Sept 2026.

Why it matters

Iceland, then and now

At settlement, about 1,150 years ago, birch woodland and scrub covered a large part of Iceland. Grazing, wood-cutting and charcoal making cleared most of it, and today Iceland is the least forested of the Nordic countries.

Forest with trees that reach, or can reach, 5 m, share of land area, 2023
  • Finland73.7%
  • Sweden68.7%
  • Norway33.5%
  • Denmark15.8%
  • Iceland0.53%
  • Iceland at settlementBirch woodland and scrub, historical estimate25–40%

Sources: World Bank, FAO data, 2023 · Icelandic Forest Service, history of forests in Iceland

A smiling planter holding a tray of seedlings

About us

We want what we do today to leave the environment better for the future. That’s why we plant trees.

Skógálfar has invested in land in Grímsnes- og Grafningshreppur to grow forests for carbon sequestration. The projects bring environmental, economic and social benefits and contribute to the fight against climate change.

A multipurpose forest: internationally certified carbon sequestration, soil conservation, outdoor recreation, timber production and other ecosystem services.

Contact

See the forest for yourself

The forest isn’t a roadside stop: visits are arranged in advance. Anyone who’s interested, or has an enquiry, is welcome. Just send us a request.

Request a visitDirections 

Ásmundur SkeggjasonOwnerArranges visits and answers enquiriesas@hofdi.is+354 895 3000

Updates

Latest news

News from the forest, the certification and the carbon market.

  1. The first internationally certified forest carbon project in Iceland

    We are delighted to announce our first internationally certified forest carbon project – and the first in Iceland.

    A tractor on the heath under a cloudy sky
  2. Carbon markets

    A government working group recently published its report on carbon markets. Here are a few points from the report that we would like to highlight.

    Carbon markets – challenges and opportunities in an Icelandic context
  3. The worst mistakes in Iceland’s history – Gylfi Magnússon

    Gylfi Magnússon, professor at the University of Iceland, writes about the worst mistakes in Iceland’s history in the latest issue of Vísbending.

    Gylfi Magnússon’s article on the worst mistakes in Iceland’s history, published by Heimildin

More news

Carbon units

Be part of growing Iceland’s forest.

Our carbon units come from forest on our own land in South Iceland, certified under the Forest Carbon Code and registered on the International Carbon Registry.

Enquire about unitsOur projects on the Carbon Registry