£1000 Can Plant 100 Trees
If every project allocated <1% of its budget to tree planting, together we could plant millions of trees and rejuvenate the natural environment which we have taken away over millennia.
On larger projects, say £1M plus, a small investment into the environment of as little as £1000 could fund the planting of around 100 trees. This would not even be noticed in financial performance but collectively would contribute a huge difference to global climate change.
According to the Office for National Statistics in the UK (ONS), in 2018 new work in the construction industry reach an all time high of >£113 billion. The number of projects is less clear but is known to be >7000 according to project resource.
Even if we only considered this one industry, with very little effort it should be possible to plant >700,000 new trees in a calendar year. Multiply this to account all industries we could by far exceed 1,000 000 new trees in the UK alone, all through projects. Think what could be achieved globally?
The only restriction is the availability of new saplings.
We of course cannot go around randomly planting trees therefore, I suggest three steps to do this.
Contact your local authority. You will probably find that they already have tree planting targets for your local area and will welcome your support.
Educate the next generation. Engage with local primary schools and get the kids involved in the planting.
Contact the local press. An article covering such community work will encourage others to do the same (and provide great PR).
There is a lot of support and advice out there to help, such as woodland trust or the forestry commission in the UK, so no excuses.
Link to their websites are provided below:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/forestry-commission
It is over to us as leaders to encourage (or even pressure) our senior management to invest in the future of planet.
Together we can ensure 2022 is the year we make a difference.
The power is in your hands!
Play the video for a narrated version of this blog.