Moray landowner to lead field amid climate emergency

A MORAY landowner will help lead Scotland's climate emergency response as chief of a national rural business organisation.

Mark Tennant, of Innes Estate in Elgin, has been appointed chairman designate by the board of Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), whose members include estates, farms, campsites and other rural businesses.

Innes Estate has been a member of SLE for more than 40 years. Mr Tennant has held the position of vice-chair (policy) since 2018, during which his main focus has been to develop a post-Brexit land management approach to increase productivity alongside meeting climate change targets.

Mr Tennant ran Innes Estate until 2017 before handing the reins over to his son. The land is a 4500-acre, low-ground estate, with Innes House at its centre. The family has run weddings and corporate events at the 17th-century Scottish Renaissance house for two decades.

The businessman's priority in his new role will be to work with private, community and charitable landowners to help them use their land in the fight against climate change.

Mr Tennant said: "This is a crucial time for businesses and communities in rural Scotland. Our farms, forests, moorlands and peatlands can play a huge role in helping combat the climate emergency and without which Scotland cannot reach net zero emissions by its target of 2045.

"From the way we do business, to using land as a carbon sink to drain greenhouse gas emissions, our land plays a crucial role. As chairman designate, I will be working with private, community and charitable landowners to help fight climate change.

"For over 110 years SLE has been helping rural Scotland thrive and I will continue this mission. I will be working with the Scottish and UK governments to ensure our farmers, rural communities and businesses are taken into consideration when they are making decisions on new policy and legislation."

Mr Tennant’s career has ranged from assisting refugees to investment banking. His working life began in nursing with the NHS, which included a period in a Tibetan refugee camp in India. He joined the Scots Guards before moving into a career in the City of London in 1974. He was chairman of Scottish Financial Enterprise from 2009-12 dealing with the impact of the financial crash. During this time he was also deputy chairman of the Scottish Government’s financial services advisory board, chaired by the first minister.

Bagpiper and Scottish music devotee Mr Tennant has led several cultural exchanges from Scotland. He also leads a charity whose aims are to stop young people reoffending and to lower the incidence of knife crime in London.

Mr Tennant will take the helm on April 28 when current chairman David Johnstone steps down.

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