On Nov. 9, e-commerce direct-seller QNET, in partnership with EcoMatcher, a certified B Corporation, announced it had launched its new Green Legacy program. The initiative aims to plant trees that will grow into healthy, new forests in Kenya, United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines in keeping with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
QNET kicked off the first phase of its Green Legacy program by planting 1,000 trees each in Kenya, UAE, and the Philippines. Thanks to EcoMatcher, a certified social enterprise, and the world’s first blockchain-enabled digital tree-planting platform, it can track every tree’s performance on a mobile device through ID geolocation. QNET can also learn each tree’s story, including its species, plant date, and farmer.
The Green Legacy initiative aligns with the recent commitment to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030, made by more than 100 global leaders at the 2021 COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland. The leaders represented more than 85% of the planet’s forests.
How QNET is combating climate change
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals identify reforestation and sustainable forest management as two key ways to combat climate change. QNET is headquartered in Hong Kong and has a presence in more than 25 countries worldwide, which helps it comprehend the critical role that forests play in the livelihoods, ecology, culture, and health of global communities. That is why QNET is committed to protecting nature and actively planting trees to help improve the local ecosystems and generate sustainable agro-forestry livelihoods for surrounding communities.
The Green Legacy program plants indigenous trees in the Sierra Madre mountain range of the Philippines. Mangrove trees will grow in the UAE along the western coast of Dubai. In Kenya, it restores trees to the degraded forest lands of Embu County in the eastern part of the country.
“To say we are planting trees is perfunctory,” says Malou Caluza, QNET’s CEO. “Our commitment to reforestation in these communities goes much deeper. We are in a long-term partnership to ensure these forests thrive long into the future while meeting the needs and desires of each community. QNET is building a Green Legacy to protect the planet for all of us. These three forests are just the beginning. We will work closely with EcoMatcher and other environmental organizations to identify the global footprint of the QNET forests over the next few years.”
QNET commits to environmental improvement
The Green Legacy program contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals numbers 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 13 (Climate Action), and 15 (Life on Land). The three forests planted by QNET in partnership with EcoMatcher, collectively support the families of 15 planters throughout Kenya, UAE, and the Philippines. The newly planted forests will absorb 750 tons of CO2 over the lifetime of the trees.
According to the World Wildlife Fund report, tropical forests lose more than 30 football fields worth of trees every minute. Rebuilding forests is necessary as they support more than 80% of the world’s land species and protect 75% of our freshwater supply. Healthy forests also reduce the risk of flooding and landslides to surrounding areas. Plus, more than 1.6 billion people depend on them for their livelihood.
The Green Legacy initiative is the latest example of QNET’s long-held commitment to improving environmental sustainability. The direct-seller is also a meat-free organization because animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of deforestation, especially in the Amazon. And it has banned single-use plastic in all of its offices worldwide.
QNET is forward-thinking and focused on sustainable practices that will lessen its environmental impact while protecting its employees and communities through developing products strategically and holistically, ensuring an ethical supply chain, and promoting a sustainable corporate culture.
Says Caluza, “As a global company with nearly a thousand employees and millions of customers in approximately 100 countries, QNET is committed to being a purpose-driven company that is driving change in the lives of our people, our communities, and the planet. Most recently, when Turkey was ravaged by hundreds of wildfires across 14 locations, we stepped in by donating 2,000 saplings to an environmental foundation leading a reforestation effort in Antalya. Our partnership with EcoMatcher is the latest manifestation of our commitment to the environment that stretches back over the past 23 years.”
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