Wesfarmers Insurance will offset its 2010 carbon emissions by planting 26,000 native trees on WA farmland.

The agreement signed with carbon credits company Carbon Conscious involves the planting of eucalypts to reduce salinity and soil erosion on the farms and contribute to the effort to counter climate change.

Wesfarmers GM Corporate Affairs Georgie Morell told insuranceNEWS.com.au the company wants to “manage our carbon footprint to minimise our impact on the environment”.

“In order to become carbon-neutral we purchased 26,000 verified emission reduction carbon credits from Carbon Conscious to comply with Australia’s national carbon offset standard.”

Carbon Conscious is already planting trees in many of the regional areas where Wesfarmers Insurance operates, Ms Morell said.

The trees will store carbon over a 30-year period and be maintained by Carbon Conscious.