Tree Planting for Corporate Social Responsibility: A guide for prospective investors

Tree planting is a growing corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity. Companies gain strategic benefit from engaging in tree planting for CSR and have done so for decades. The characteristics of reforestation and afforestation projects have historically made these initiatives less attractive to institutional investors and corporate sponsorship has filled the gap. Recently, firms have begun to place tree planting at the center of their value propositions. The world has reached a tipping point, recognizing the urgent threat of climate change and the potential of forest-based natural climate solutions. Companies are leveraging online tree planting platforms and social media trends to connect with their customers over trees and these firms are experiencing rapid growth and success and planting vast numbers of trees.

However, realizing long-term benefits from tree planting is an involved and evolving process. Several environmental, economic, and managerial factors must be carefully considered to achieve a positive outcome. Investing in a poorly run initiative may unfortunately waste limited CSR resources, be perceived as greenwashing, and in the worst case cause real environmental and social damage in the long term.

By highlighting key considerations and providing guidelines for decision makers, this paper is a resource for CSR managers who are considering investing in tree planting activities or evaluating their existing planting sponsorship. This guide prepares managers to assess the relationship between tree planting and business strategy, to evaluate the benefits and co-benefits of a potential planting project, to select appropriate services from the offerings of tree planting providers, and to develop a plan for engaging stakeholders with a tree planting campaign.

Chapter one outlines the tree planting value proposition, provides background information on the recent increase in corporate sponsored tree planting, and situates these activities within the growing field environmental CSR. Chapter two sets out considerations for developing a tree planting program that can deliver strategic benefits. It covers how firms can assess stakeholder needs, how biases affect manager decision making, and how an inappropriately planned project can result in greenwashing. Chapter three addresses the forestry economics that underpin the environmental benefits of tree planting and describes potential co-benefits, as well as the risk of negative outcomes for planting projects and investors, and strategies to mitigate these risks. Chapter four describes the services offered by tree planting organizations, current trends in connecting stakeholders with planting campaigns, and includes examples of innovative companies, campaigns, and platforms operating in this space.