ABN Amro Clearing, one of the world's largest clearing firms for derivatives, is partnering with Land Life Company, an Amsterdam-based company that works to restore lands degraded by natural or human activities, on a five-year reforestation program this summer that includes large-scale tree plantings around the world.
Around 50,000 trees will be planted each year, offsetting an estimated 10,000 tons of CO2 and supporting local biodiversity, the two companies said.
The project is part of a broader effort by ABN Amro Clearing to support sustainability by reducing its own carbon footprint, such as by reducing the amount of carbon emissions from its data centres. The clearing firm is also working with corporate clients such as power and gas companies to help them with the transition to renewable energy.
The partnership with Land Life builds on the two organizations' current two-year climate action plan and will boost ABN Amro Clearing's efforts to offset its carbon emissions by more than 100%. Reforestation is a cost-effective and impactful way of tackling climate change as it removes carbon from the atmosphere, tackles biodiversity loss and helps build more resilient habitats.
Most of the plantings will take place on degraded land in Spain and Australia. The companies said Spain was selected because it is one of the countries most severely affected by desertification in Europe. In Australia, land has been severely degraded from overgrazing and wildfires, and the restoration project will help to reverse fragmentation, erosion and loss of biodiversity.
The trees planted in each location will be tracked and traced using Land Life's on-the-ground and remote sensing technologies, so the growth and carbon capture can be followed over time.
In addition, ABN Amro Clearing, which has more than 800 staff in 10 offices around the world, is inviting its employees out into the field for company planting days in countries where it is based, including the Netherlands, the UK, Australia and the US.
“Planting trees in areas where it is needed the most supports our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals on climate action,” said Pauline Engelberts, global chief operations officer at ABN Amro Clearing.
“It is also important for us that we connect the tree planting we do together as a team in our own neighborhoods to what is required for climate action on a global scale,” she added.
ABN Amro Clearing first partnered with Land Life Company two years ago on a project to plant 17,000 native trees on degraded land in Castilla y León, Spain and Victoria, Australia.
Photo: Courtesy of Land Life Company.
