You CAN make a difference
With small acts of sustainability
Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. (Howard Zinn, historian, playwright, author, social scientist)
If you are wondering how small acts of sustainability can add up quickly, you need to look no further than the search engine extension Ecosia. Simply said, when you search the web via Ecosia, the ads generate income which is used to plant trees. After a simple installation, all you have to do is use it and you become one of 15 million people participating in this sustainable endeavor. According to their website, Ecosia has planted over 148 million trees in over 9000 projects. That is an investment of over €12 million globally.
Too good to be true?
Ecosia isn’t just about planting a tree on the side of the road and hoping it grows (I admit this was the extent of how I first envisioned the concept). Ecosia has a tree planting team that determines what projects the organization takes on in places around the world where they will really have an impact. They look at ecosystems and work with the local communities to identify how the trees can play a role in restoring habitat long-term.
Not only that, but Ecosia has its own solar plants to power searches and has rethought the relationship of power and money in its business, describing its business model as
a hybrid between a non-profit and a full-profit business. Our goal is to scale our project and make it as high-performing and profitable as possible. But instead of using these profits to pay our CEO a huge salary, or pay out dividends to shareholders, we use them to fund reforestation projects….We want to make money so that we can have the biggest positive impact on our chosen cause: tree planting. (ecosia.org)
If you are thinking, wow, that is great, but just wait til they are bought out by another search engine (or billionaire), well, that can’t happen. Ecosia’s founder, Christian Kroll, passed over the stewardship of Ecosia to the Purpose Foundation, creating a binding legal commitment to keep shares and profits in the company. Ecosia is a business, applying business know-how and acumen to grow, all the while putting the profits right back into the core project of planting trees and investing in our planet.
What does this mean for me?
I have written about habits, recognizing how difficult they can be to change, even when the goal is more sustainable practices in our daily routines. Browsing the internet, whether researching a topic, shopping or checking the weather forecast, is a daily habit for most of us. It is, in fact, practically a necessity nowadays and we get caught up in a system we can’t control. The makers behind Ecosia have created a space to step into a different system where we can participate not only in rehabilitating the natural world but also say “yes” via our clicks to an innovative and sustainable business model.
Another small act of sustainability
Whether installing Ecosia is your first or 20th step in small acts of sustainability, don’t let it be your last. Gift a tree via Ecosia and peruse the Ecosia website for more detail on their social business approach and how they choose their tree planting projects (the FAQ’s are a good starting point).
Join in the conversation with me and other readers of Sustain-Ability and leave a comment on this topic or let me know what else you would like to learn about.
What an easy way to make a daily habit better for the planet. Thank you.
I have installed Ecosia- now just need to remember to use it (good reminder about habits, Rachel!).