Since the early days of the company, Baldwin has grown a lot – both in number of clients, projects and team members. We’re on a continuous path to self-improvement as a company and we – the employees – feel like we could make an impact on people’s lives around us. As such, Team Baldwin decided to take a first step towards a more eco-friendly & conscious way of working.
We decided to partner up with One Tree Planted, a reforestation organization active all around the world, but especially in areas that are struggling with environmental changes and social challenges. We do realise this is just one little step towards changing our own mindsets. But we believe every little step is a step worth taking. Our goal is to set an example and to grow consciousness – both individually, and as a company altogether.
We need to face is, it’s time for a serious resolution
One Tree Planted is a non-profit organisation focused on global reforestation. They work together with different local reforestation organisations and companies around the world in their quest to plant trees.
Why trees?
Trees clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink and they are the habitat of over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Furthermore, forests provide jobs to a huge amount of people and clear out harmful carbon from the atmosphere. Capable of taking in a large amount of carbon, forests play a huge role in minimizing climate change. Globally, the protection, restoration and proper management of the tropical forests alone could provide 23% of the reduction that’s required to limit global warming to 2%.
Together, we can have an impact on the sustainability of our forests.
Because we want to set an example, because we want to do more than just the ordinary, because we care… We decided we will plant 50 trees for each of our websites going live starting from 2019. Just an example: if we build 16 websites that will go live in 2019, we will have donated 800 trees at the end of the year.
How it works
This program wants to protect the biodiversity of the forests and assure the future generations get the same opportunity to adventure and explore like we have done for so many decades.
As such, One Tree Planted combines all the donations for each project and sends the funds to their reforestation partners. Depending on the project, the best tree species are chosen to plant, after which local communities get them in the ground. Planting typically happens in the rainy season when the soil is wet and provides optimal conditions for tree survival.
After the planting process is done, their partners are responsible for the maintenance. One Tree Planted provides regular updates in the form of photos and impact reports.
What we did so far…
It’s been some months since the beginning of 2019. What have we already done by now?
For the go-live of Little Kings and Queens in February, we donated trees to projects on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, also known as the “rooftop of Africa”. It’s the highest freestanding mountain in the world where forests are declining at a rapid rate. We choose to donate our trees here because it will help restore balance to the climate and combat poverty in the rural communities.
For the go-live of Lietaert in March, we donated trees to the rainforest in the Kalimantan region in Borneo, home to diverse wildlife such as orangutans, Sumatran tigers, sun bears and over 1700 species of birds. The rainforest has been threatened by fires and by the palm oil industry and illegal mining operations. Reforestation helps protecting endangered wildlife, reducing the impact of fires and building local communities.
When Vijgeblad went live in March, we chose the Andes Mountains of South America. The forest coverage is a critical source of water, food, and jobs to the local Indigenous population. The forest is also essential to innumerable communities and cities downstream as the Andes’ watersheds drain into the Amazon basin. The mountains have been facing years of deforestation caused by a growing population and increasing agricultural production.
Medicare went live in March. We donated fifty trees to the southern Australian island of Tasmania, one of the last places where many of Australia’s threatened native species can thrive. Unfortunately, centuries of farming in the Tasmanian midlands have depleted habitats and reduced biodiversity.
Reforestation is a major challenge for Haiti. Centuries of over-farming and poor agricultural methods have destroyed the region’s soil. Erosion makes it very difficult to grow food, and dramatically increases the impact of natural disasters. Planting trees here will help restore nutrients to the soil and teach local farmers how to use the land responsibly and profitably. So when BE O Bar went live, we donated 50 trees to this area.
The goal is not to get more sympathy or to brag about how different we are. We want to inspire other companies to join us in this movement. We are all in this together!
