A greener future:  An interview with Jim Holland from Carma

Tree planting is playing an increasingly popular role in the ecommerce environment. Seen as the ideal way to offset carbon emissions, recent research shows that half of FTSE 100 companies are turning to tree planting for their ESG initiatives.

But what does it actually entail, what are the benefits, and is it actually worth it for brands like yours to get involved?

Why tree planting?

Simply put, trees produce much needed oxygen, remove harmful CO2 and provide diverse ecosystems that support wildlife. Tree planting and increasing tree canopy and woodland cover is the focus on a number of initiatives, such as the National Trust project to plant 20 million trees in the UK, as well as government targets set out by the Environment Act 2021 and Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

In a nutshell, these UK targets include:

• Increasing tree canopy and woodland cover by 0.26% by 31 January 2028 
• Restoring or creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042 
• Increasing tree canopy and woodland cover from 14.5% to 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050 

So, yes, tree planting is most definitely beneficial to the planet and definitely – worth it.

Meet Carma: Planting trees in the UK + supporting UK veterans

Ultimately, tree planting isn’t just good for the environment. It’s good for people too. And we should be doing more of it. That is according to Carma co-founder and CEO, Jim Holland.

Carma’s mission is to bridge the gap between society, business and the ecosystem by making social and environmental impact simple and affordable. All through various tree planting initiatives aimed at businesses – including ecommerce brands.

The company is B Corporation Certified and was established in 2022 by Royal Navy Veteran Jim Holland and Iain Gurney. Carma is scaling-up and plants hundreds of thousands of trees every year in the UK and abroad, providing employment opportunities for veterans and vulnerable communities.

“The planet will be here regardless of if the human race is here,” says Jim. “Trees don’t plant themselves. For every tree that is planted, employment is created, there is net biodiversity gain, and over time oxygen is released and carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. And those benefits are for people.”

Tree planting for eCommerce: TreeCommerce

For Jim, including tree planting in brand strategies – like ESG and sales – means that committing to it helps embed practices into an organisation so much so that they form the foundation for other initiatives.

Forward thinking brands should be building that into their business practices and strategies and be able to proudly demonstrate the impact they’re having.

Carma offers a service called ‘TreeCommerce’. It has been designed to help brands lessen their carbon footprint and impact through tree planting – but more than that, it is an excellent strategy to empower your customers and build better relationships with them.

How?

Your brand commits to planting trees or kelp based on predefined milestones – such as products sold online. It signals to your customers, suppliers, staff and the overall market that your brand is serious about your environmental commitments. Initiatives like TreeCommerce are also ideal for staff motivation (Promotion? Plant a tree. Work anniversary? Plant a tree.), rewarding customers and demonstrating to prospective customers that you are thinking bigger (and kinder) than the competition.

Keeping track

Doing it in a clear and systematic way (Carma provides each customer with a dashboard and customisable map that details number of trees planted, jobs created and locations targeted) makes it easier to communicate your brand’s achievements. This is helpful for both internal audiences, staff, the board, shareholders, as well as external audiences, such as prospective customers or investors.  For any B Corps, it can also be helpful for developing your annual impact report.  

Initiatives around tree planting help attract not just new customers that share your values and attitudes towards the environment, but talent as well. A conscious culture is key in attracting and retaining the right staff and with a commitment to reforestation and ocean rehabilitation, what better way is there?

The feel-good factor

Tree planting is often the base initiative for companies who build it into ESG strategies so much so that it becomes a standard operating procedure. From there other, wider initiatives can take form.

Jim Holland from Carma concludes:

“There’s a definite feel-good factor when it comes to planting a tree, especially when you can see how many trees are being planted and how that translates into Co2 removed from the atmosphere. And that feeling is multiplied when you’re physically involved. Our tree planting days in the UK are ideal for corporate team building, getting back to nature and seeing how you can make a tangible difference to an environment.”

A greener future

At Fullers Fulfilment, we operate in an industry that is very aware of its impact on the environment so we always have an eye on the future and what we can be doing to make sure its sustainable.

There are many areas we try and reduce our impact, from working with couriers who are committed to transitioning to electric fleets and advising on recyclable packaging options, to embedding sustainable practices within our own offices and warehouses. We are part of the B1G1 (Buy One, Give One) initiative that sees us donate to causes that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

We see programmes like tree planting as the ideal vehicle to give back to local and wider communities by being something we can support ourselves as part of our sustainability strategy. We also see it as a great way to get our customers involved and hopefully their customers, therefore paying forward the benefits. With that in mind, we support our customers in establishing initiatives like TreeCommerce for their brand.

If you’d like more information on Carma’s tree planting services, please click here.

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