In a world where climate change, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions have reached alarming levels, consumers and companies are increasingly trying to focus on ecological issues. They are basing their economic choices on the environmental characteristics of the products they use or produce. Many companies – with Enel at the forefront – are investing in reducing their environmental impact and improving their social accountability.

Startups like Treedom, which was founded in 2010 in Florence by Federico Garcea and Tommaso Speroni, help reduce the ecological footprint of individuals and organizations while improving the life of local communities and encouraging micro-entrepreneurship. 

Treedom is the world’s first e-commerce website to enable people to plant trees and follow their progress online. Their model is innovative, convenient and fun, and allows everyone to actively contribute to the planet’s reforestation. Local farmers and cooperatives plant each tree, and reap the social and economic benefits that come from the initiative. Their work is then published on the profile of supporting users, who form the greenest community on the web.

One for the environment

One interesting feature about Treedom is the impact calculator that allows users to estimate how much CO₂ they are responsible for – depending on their means of transportation, diet and other habits. This not only increases their environmental awareness, but allows them to take immediate action – suggesting how many trees they could plant to neutralize their carbon footprint. the platform also allows users to customize their trees by adding a personalized message, and even give one as a gift.

To show its commitment to this project, so far Enel has contributed to the planting of 68,000 trees in five countries: Argentina, Cameroon, Haiti, Kenya and Senegal. Enel’s profile, published on Treedom.net, allows users to find out more about all of the trees planted in the “Enel Forest” and to discover how much CO2 has been neutralized as a result.

The collaboration between Enel and Treedom was launched eight years ago, and has gradually broadened its scope. “At first, we worked with the Communications and Market divisions on sponsoring musical events and the Enel Premia Loyalty program,” says Treedom co-founder Federico Garcea. Then came partnerships on important events like Sustainability Day and Earth Day, when the Group offered clients the opportunity to have a tree planted on their behalf. Last year, Treedom helped make Enel’s Capital Markets Day sustainable by planting 700 trees in Sicily and Colombia. 

Where social responsibility meets innovation

Treedom’s trees are planted as part of agroforestry projects where they have a social, economic and environmental impact. For local people, each tree is the beginning of a job, a means to produce food for themselves and their loved ones, and a way to improve the habitat in which they live. Individual farmers or small farmer cooperatives receive financial contributions for planting new trees. 

By actively engaging the local community, the projects yield extraordinary results in terms of empowerment. They encourage respect for – and protection of – natural resources. Following this approach, Garcea says “in Kenya, for example, we’re in contact with project leaders who supply the plants to rural communities, provide training and then harvest and sell the fruit, redistributing the profits through a cooperative model.”

An almost natural harmony has developed between Enel and Treedom. As the co-founder concludes, “personally, I share Enel’s open innovation vision. It is one of very few Italian companies that seek innovation across the world and leave startups free to develop their own ideas.”