REF X 'Treedom' - Climate Compensation
Treedom is a tree planting organisation. By planting trees - as the tree grows, it will absorb CO2, protect the soil and enable biodiversity. This is what our climate compensation is about. Through plantation of forests, REF compensates the carbon emission of our products. To reach the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we all must play our part - and at REF we work with dedication to reduce our CO2 footprint.
"We believe in a sustainable world where the carbon footprint of our products is limited. Therefore, REF has introduced a cooperation with Treedom to plant the REF forest! "
Treedom plants trees strategically in agroforestry systems to maximise the environmental, economic, and social benefits these giants of the earth can generate. It is a process of care and maintenance over the years which makes the project long-term and therefore more sustainable. They involve local communities to plant so that the positive impact is not only on the immediate environment that they act on, but also on the people who live there.
The REF X Treedom project consists of a combination of species created according to the specific characteristics and needs of the individual location and the individual community.
You will be able to follow REFs own forest here, since all the trees have a geolocation via Treedom, and you can track in real-time the progress of our plantations in Nepal, Kenya and Colombia.
“Our industry is a part of the problem.
We want to be a part of the solution.”
Edward Ernstberger
CEO REF
HOW DOES IT WORK?
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As a first step REF has together with Treedom put up a forest plan that respects the biodiversity of the project area and made sure that all
trees has been planted in ecologically diverse agroforestry systems.
- Once the tree is planted in the ground, every single one has been photographed and geolocated to ensure the transparency and traceability of each project. The Forestry Managers at Treedom receive the aggregated data in maps and check the photos one by one, to make sure the photos match the species and that the trees are doing well.
- Via the collaboration with Treedom we also receive a virtual forest alongside the real REF forest. The virtual forest is interactive and updated live. The virtual REF Forest will show exactly how many trees have been planted, how many country projects it supports worldwide, how many KGs of CO2 will be absorbed, and how many smallholder farmers are involved. The NGOs and associations Treedom collaborate with guarantee a direct relationship with people, and therefore greater transparency will be achieved for REF customers and partners.
- The REF Forest will demonstrate our commitment’s positive impact all in in one place. In our first commitment we have planted 200 trees, which can absorb an estimated 11.000 KG CO2. We look forward to continue the journey and increase our positive impact and commitment - and to reduce our environmental footprint together!