Ecosia, a search engine company aims to use profits to plant 1 billion trees by 2020

Ecosia, a search engine company aims to use profits to plant 1 billion trees by 2020

What is the most popular web search engine on your top of mind?

Google? Bing? Yahoo? Baidu?

You may have your own answer but we would like to introduce you another meaningful alternative for consideration.

Ecosia is a web search engine based in Berlin, Germany, which donates 80% of its surplus income to non-profit conservationist organisations, with a focus on tree planting in 17 countries throughout Europe, North America, Central & South America, Africa, and Asia. As of October 2018,  over 40 million trees have been planted with Ecosia’s  support.

Christian Kroll, Founder of Ecosia (PC: Ecosia Facebook)

Founded by Christian Kroll in 2009 to coincide with UN climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark,  Ecosia considers itself a “social business” as certified by B-Lab as a benefit corporation and claims to support full financial transparency. Currently Ecosia can be searched by using a web browser or a mobile app on Android and iOS devices with over 7 millions users worldwide. According to its motto “Diversity, justice, and equality are the key to solving the world’s most pressing problems.”, the company keeps on improving their business and donation models as well as the quality of the search results.

For instance, between December 2009 and August 2013, Ecosia donated to the Plant a half million Trees program run by the Nature Conservancy, which the program aimed to restore the Brazilian Atlantic Forest by planting one million native trees by 2015. In 2013, Ecosia switched to finance a new reforestation program by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), namely “Plant a Billion Trees” and aimed at reforesting the Mata Atlântica, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. In 2015, Ecosia began funding reforestation in Burkina Faso, West Africa as part of the Great Green Wall project, backed by the African Union and the World Bank, that aims to prevent desertification. In October 2018,  Christian Kroll announced having given part of his shares to the Purpose Foundation and gave up the right to sell Ecosia or take profits out of the company to ensure the conservation projects in long run.

In short, Ecosia targets to plant a billion trees by 2020. Let’s join their hands by walking the talk!

Source of Information:

Ecosia Blog

Ecosia Shop

Search Engine Journal

Source of Information:  Ecosia 

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Ecosia 讓你透過網絡搜尋成為 「植樹王」?目標2020年前全球種植10億棵樹

Ecosia 讓你透過網絡搜尋成為 「植樹王」?目標2020年前全球種植10億棵樹

不說不知,亞洲區的互聯網用戶可能慣常使用  Google、Chrome、雅虎 (Yahoo)、百度等知名搜尋軟件(參考附文),今日想為大家介紹來自歐洲德國的Ecosia,其特別之處是,當你透過 Ecosia 查找資料,Ecosia 團隊會在世界另一處替你種一棵樹,即愈搜得多,種得愈多。間接讓你化身網上農夫,為減輕地球暖化出一分力。

目前 Ecosia 在全球約有 700 萬名活躍使用者,收益主要來自搜尋引擎上的廣告。他們承諾將 80% 盈利用作資助全球森林復育計畫。使用者可預設Ecosia  為搜尋瀏覧器,或透過安裝手機應用程式進行查找。 用戶平均每搜尋 45 次,Ecosia 就會種下一棵樹,你可看見樹的數目顯示於搜尋介面的右上角。就算使用者開啟廣告阻擋程式,計算也不會被排除在外。

Ecosia 創辦人 Christian Kroll(圖片: Ecosia Facebook)

Ecosia 創辦人 Christian Kroll 表示,合作本著 「多元性、公義和平等為解決全球最緊迫問題的關鍵之匙」為Ecosia 發展的座右銘。自 2009年成立以來 ,一直帶領Ecosia 改良搜尋體驗、公司營運及捐助模式,堅持社企式管治、保持財務透明,又與不同機構 (如WWF 、The Nature Conservancy等)合作,將每年營收拿來種樹,至今已遍佈巴西、祕魯、馬達加斯加、印尼和坦桑尼亞等地區,截至2018年 10 月,合共種下超過4,000 萬棵樹。如在巴西,他們與當地的植樹團體 Pacto 合力種樹,目標是讓大西洋沿岸熱帶雨林(Atlantic Rainforest)起死回生; 在非洲的烏干達,他們正為 25 萬棵樹的種植計畫募資,重新打造 500 公頃的綠地,讓當地的黑猩猩能有地方棲息。Ecosia 也將與Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots協力,教育當地孩童自然保育的知識,及森林對人類、動物和環境的價值。

Christian Kroll  剛於 2018年 10 月宣佈將其旗下的Ecosia 股權轉讓至The Purpose Foundation,確保公司未來繼續與全球種樹項目,目標是希望 2020 年前,能在全球種下 10 億棵樹,有興趣 試新搜尋器的數碼新人類不妨加入成為同行者,為地球加多一點氧氣加加油!

資料來源:

Ecosia Blog / Ecosia Shop

Search Engine Journal

Tech Orange

圖片:  Ecosia 

About Go.Asia

Go.Asia

Go.Asia is a charitable initiative that aims to improve society through collective and individual efforts. Go.Asia contains helpful information on possible ways to enrich your life and the lives of those around you through acts of kindness, compassion, generosity and goodwill.