Create climate positivity with Makeitneutral – planting trees is the best gift for nature!

Long-term scientific research has proven the undisputable fact that planting trees is of key importance in environmental protection. The more we take initiative in restoring our forests, the better.

Makeitneutral helps you become forest-positive. Together, we can make a change, as Makeitneutral plants trees that are sorely needed on our planet! We are not able to erase our ecological footprint in full, but it is possible for us to reduce it as much as possible. This is a huge step towards a cleaner environment. You can increase your carbon neutrality by 15%. Being a generous planter of trees will also reap rewards for your company financially, as nowadays, 84% of customers prefer purchasing from climate-positive sellers.

Our company has joined the Makeitneutral program. For every purchased order, Makeitneutral will plant a tree for us and our customers!

What do we do in cooperation with Makeitneutral?

• Makeitneutral plants the trees
• Makeitneutral keeps in touch with you regarding the planting process and location
• Makeitneutral makes sure that the trees grow to be big and strong
• All Makeitneutral trees are supplied by certified partners, and they are suitable for restoring forests. The planting takes places once or twice per year; in the early spring after the snow has melted, and in autumn.

What will you receive by joining in?

• A chance to plant trees in your home country
• The rewarding feeling that you have given the birds and other animals a new home for the next 50-100 years.
• The Makeitneutral badge, visual materials, and instructions on how to use these materials for communication and marketing.
• A sustainable company – you will become a more valuable investment partner.

The trees are planted with blockchain technology, which means that each tree has a unique digital footprint. Thanks to this info, it is possible to visit the forest anytime to see if the planted tree is still there. When you join the program, you can always rest assured that your trees are actually planted, and that they are being taken care of.

The trees will be planted in the home country of the purchasing party, on designated Makeitneutral Forestry lands. These allotments are called Makeitneutral conservation areas; there, the trees will be managed and taken care of for 80 years. The goal is not to produce timber. Makeitneutral plants habitats, not industrial forests. At some point in the future, when it is absolutely necessary to harvest some of the trees for maintenance, the wood will be used in a way that is as beneficial for the environment as possible.

The first batch of planting will take place in April 2022, and all trees will be planted in Estonia. Makeitneutral is cooperating with the largest tree planting company in the Baltics, Forestplanter, and two other companies as well. For this purpose, Makeitneutral has already secured 4.7 million trees this spring. In cooperation with Forestplanter, Makeitneutral has also registered a branch company to increase trust in the process.

Why is it important to plant trees?

Planting trees is an important strategy for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Goal 3: Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development.

Goal 13: Taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Goal 15: Sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss.

The value of planting trees is easy to recognize by looking at many different environmental factors. The starkest results of air pollution are seen in the way it ravages our health – one of the main reasons we need more trees, and fast. Because of air pollution, more than 3 million people worldwide die every year, and in some regions, it is still getting worse. Among other ailments, air pollution causes bronchitis, glaucoma, high blood pressure, heart myocardial infarction and heart attacks; all this can significantly reduce the average lifespan. With their still developing bodies, children are especially susceptible to environmental pollutants: toxic compounds cause behavioural irregularities and stunt physiological development.

In contrast, a natural environment that is rich in trees has long since been proven to be simply great for mental health. Spending time in the vicinity of trees works wonders for clearing out negative thoughts; it helps mitigate symptoms of depression and increased overall satisfaction with life.

Trees have an astoundingly positive effect on the academic results of children. Even if they spend a little while out in nature, studies unanimously show that kids become better at writing and arithmetic. Trees should at least be in view – though the easier it is to access these green pastures, the better. The best thing is to study right there in-between the trees. Thanks to spending time in the woods, children are more attentive in classes and more active participants. In the same way, trees improve the mental health of adults. It is quite easy to notice the physiological benefits, too: a jog on the local forest path keeps our body energized.

Trees are irreplaceable habitats for animals and birds, who forage there for food. For example, by planting a tree on a meadow, the biodiversity of birds can increase by a whopping 80 species. Keeping in mind how many mammal and bird species are endangered or in danger of extinction, this benefit of trees is of utmost importance.

Trees absorb and store a huge amount of carbon, which is one of the primary culprits of climate change. Healthy trees help reduce excess carbon in the atmosphere significantly. About 50% of the full body mass of an average tree consists of carbon. If there are enough trees, the amount of atmospheric carbon drops greatly. Trees separate carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their roots. They can do this for decades and even centuries – the older the tree, the more they have helped us during the years. Depending on the species, a tree can absorb as much as 22 kilograms of carbon per year; as they reach the age of 40, this adds up to more than a ton. One acre of trees (about 4046 m²) can absorb as much carbon dioxide annually as a regular car produces when you drive it for 42,000 kilometres.

In fact, a single tree can produce enough oxygen for 4 people!

Not only do trees improve air quality by removing excess carbon dioxide; they help purify it from several other dangerous gases. Trees absorb exhaust gases, such as nitrogen oxides, ozone, ammonia, and sulphur dioxide. No wonder we feel so great when taking a walk in the woods!

Trees solve other environmental problems, too. They lower the risk of soil erosion (this means less landslides and other natural disasters!), add fertility to the soil, and keep the ground moisturized. Fallen leaves decompose into valuable fertilizer which adds essential nutrients to the soil; the trees themselves grow bigger and microorganisms develop in greater numbers, contributing to the biodiversity.

Trees remove pollution from within the soil, too. Annually, a single maple tree can get rid of 60 milligrams of cadmium, 140 milligrams of chromium and 5,200 milligrams of lead. Studies have found that the wastewater runoff of farms has 88 percent less nitrates and 76 percent less phosphorus in it after it passes through a forested area, which acts as a filter.

Worth mentioning are also the benefits of trees growing in cities. Trees lower air temperature by a water evaporation process known as evapotranspiration. A single tree is enough to create the same cooling effect daily as ten room-sized air conditioners working for 20 hours straight. Tree leaves function as a parasol which blocks up to 90% of sun radiation from reaching the ground, cooling it considerably. By the way, trees help reduce crime! They have a calming effect on people and remove toxins from the environment, which may affect brain activity and cause aggression.

To sum up: the more you ponder on the benefits, the clearer it becomes that we must take initiative and start growing trees straight away.

Take a moment to think about your company. Depending on your business model, you surely use a lot of products made from wood: papers, packaging, furniture, and so on. On a global scale, here is what this has come to: in 1990-2015, 129 million hectares of forest was chopped down worldwide. This means a land area as big as South Africa.

Today, it is possible to increase forested areas by 0.9 billion hectares (about the total area of USA), without disrupting cities or agriculture. Reforesting could help absorb 205 billion tons of carbon. This would mean slashing about 30% of all carbon emissions directly caused by human activity.

With Makeitneutral, you can rest assured that you have made an important contribution towards a greener and healthier world.

Find more info about the program here.