“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” ~Gandhi

Planting trees is essential to our planet. Not as an aim in itself but simply because trees address some of the most important problems our generation is facing: climate changes, desertification, deforestation, CO2 emissions, malnutrition, food shortage, floods, health care, land ownership and also poverty (learn more here). For many of these problems, planting trees is a critical part of the solution. In other words, the world has yet to understand how important trees are. We believe in this.

Long term solutions are ecological solutions. For many, ecology can easily be compared to luxury. It costs more in the short term than any other solution and only demonstrates how economical it is in the long run; like a good pair of shoes could last you many years, and never stops to be trendy. I know I will not convince all women with this argument! However if we want to solve a problem we should not solve its consequences but target directly the initial cause. This requires a long term vision, even if sometimes a quick fix seems a tempting solution. Trees too require time and we go planting them in countries who sometimes suffer short term crisis such as famines. But we don’t want quick fixes that will not last, we want true solutions. We believe in this.

Because planting trees is just the beginning. Planting trees is easy but this is not enough. When fighting desertification, the unsaid (and inconvenient) truth is that most of the trees which are planted by non-professional planters have very few chances of surviving. Take for example the national tree planting day many African countries have. A few million trees are planted in one day. A success... But trees left abandoned without attention have little chances to last. If they grow and survive goats’ hunger, they will become the perfect target for wood cutting. Therefore our planting projects involve the full cycle of the trees, from planting to production and tree products sales without forgetting accounting. We don’t leave those complex tasks to inexperienced farmers, while only performing the easy one. We only seek species that can provide a steady income to the local planters. Our projects are aimed to become financially independent and ecologically sustainable. Without good economical reasons to take care of the trees, there is no point to look at long term ecological benefits. We believe in this.

Therefore Tree-Nation is a Social Enterprise. This means a company not an NGO. We are a company for moral reasons. Because we believe we can plant more and especially better as a company. On the fields it means we push entrepreneurship values. We never separate our ecological goals from the local economical needs. Locally we push company creations too. When half a country’s infrastructure is based on unsustainable and versatile financial aid (see Niger case), how can it develop?
For pure financial reasons we were often tempted to create a NGO. It sounds like a good paradox but trust me: it’s much easier to raise money as a NGO. But easy money is rarely wisely spent. And we don’t plant trees to earn big money; there are easier ways for that. We do it because we want to do some good. And we can’t compromise with this. If we can generate more good as a company, and in the same time it means fighting the old prejudice that companies are only for money and NGO for good, so be it. Companies should always act responsibly and more NGOs should seek financial sustainability on the field, and not only rely on donations. We believe in this.

Don’t expect a miracle from our leaders. We don’t. So we neither wait for it to happen. In the COP15, COP 16 or elsewhere, we believe the world leaders should first take national engagements before trying to find an international compromise on CO2. Acting for our planet should not depend on our neighbors. It’s first a personal decision everyone should make. Every personal action is pushing our leaders into the good direction. Like it often happens in many industries, companies and private people can lead the change. Leaders will follow, that’s what they do best. So we should not wait for the change, we should make it happen. We believe we can.

Tree-Nation is realistic yet with a positive mind. As for individuals or companies’ ecological involvement, it’s easy to often feel rage and desperation: mentalities are not changing that fast. But a problem can’t be solved by pure force, without first putting some good energy into it. Therefore we seek change through positive improvement not by making others feel guilty. It’s a more realistic way of making change happen. We believe in this.

Tree-Nation is open to all. Because Climate Change is a problem for all. And everyone should care for the planet. Simply not all of us are yet ready to make compromises on our daily life. We will work to change that, as it is part of our objectives. But we can do it at a pace that suits each person, and progressively. The most important is to start. A sign up on Tree-Nation is a good first step. We believe in this.

This means we are also open to companies. We accept and welcome companies to plant with us. Are they green enough? No company, like no individual is green enough. But if we don’t help them, they certainly won’t start their green revolution, or at least delay it. We want to be next to them in each step of this revolution, like we want to be next to you, because being ecologically friendly doesn’t happen in one day nor with one change. It’s a work in progress and we should not wait to get involved. Again we believe in this.

Tree-Nation is a collaborative work in progress. Every day let’s learn and improve. For us, you are much more than a client. You are the driving force of Tree-Nation. As an online social network we rely on and push our members’ interactions. Because in our community we have all the people we need to create great things. Don’t limit yourself to plant a tree on Tree-Nation because you can do much more. We’ll show you how. Our social network is the most efficient way to empower our resources while cutting on non productive costs (for example, why spending on advertising in the metro if as a network, we have all the tools we need to spread the word!). This is how much we believe in you!

Tree-Nation is trust. Some labeling or certifications standards are just business. We refuse to pay 10.000 € a year to get a certification that trees are planted. Also we do not encourage a system that most small planters will never be able to afford. We prefer to plant more for this money. There is a paradox between the great simplicity of planting a tree and the immense complexity of proving it. Why is it that only 18 planting projects (out of 2712 projects*) are registered under the Kyoto protocol. Our web platform is a free place to speak. As a community some of our members go and visit our plantations and can then tell the others what we do. There is no better trust system than one built around you. We believe in this.

We count trees, once. Don’t be fooled, you can find cheaper trees elsewhere. But what matter is how many trees will reach adult age. Our calculation is restrictive. We would not count trees that we plant but don’t follow. Some plantations need “soil stimulation” by planting with a density 4 times superior. We would not count 4 trees on your behalf when only 1 will reach adult age. When you pay for the plantation of a tree on Tree-Nation we would not resell this same tree a few years later for CO2 compensations, as we believe it is part of the reasons why you planted this tree in the first place. Yet these are common practices. It’s easy to get cheaper. But we care more about the result. We believe in this.

Tree-Nation puts Nature first. We often put CO2’s high emissions as the main problem of climate change. But let’s never forget where this problem comes from: we can’t fully solve it without addressing its primary cause.
Man is now urban and live far away from Nature (our cities are built for the sole development of our own species). In the process of urbanization history, Man lost a good part of its respect for Nature. Today’s modern world only believes in the role of human in climate disruption because we can now measure it with CO2 levels. Yet many of us could sense something was wrong since years, simply by keeping close links to Nature. To only rely on our limited science is dangerous when we deal with a much more advanced technology: Nature. Let’s keep in mind that most top scientists (in Medicine, Architecture, Engineering, Politics or Energy to quote a few) have their eyes focused on Nature to bring new improvements to their field. We call this Biomimetics. You’ll hear this term more and more often in the future as our sciences progress. So while we will make good use of modern science, our mission won’t be complete without showing the true beauty of Nature. Because its’ respect is essential. We believe in this.


* http://www.iges.or.jp/en/cdm/report_cdm.html