AstraZeneca has announced $400 million investment for its AZ Forest Programme which aims to plant 200 million trees by 2030. The company will achieve the numbers with the team effort of experts, government and local communities. AstraZeneca will ensure the long term survival of these trees to ensure a healthy planet and healthy people.
AZ Forest Programme
As a part of the company’s science-based net zero strategy Ambition Zero Carbon, AZ Forest is a commitment by AstraZeneca to plant 200 million trees by 2030. With the joint effort of planting experts, local communities and government, AstraZeneca plans to restore natural forest and agroforestry, as well as promote new skills and job prospects, public health and protection and recovery for endangered species in the biodiversity.
AstraZeneca, Chief Executive Officer, Pascal Soriot, said: “The twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are damaging the planet and harming human health. Through AZ Forest, we are working with local communities and ecological experts to deliver reforestation at scale, as well as support biodiversity and sustain livelihoods. We are taking a science-based approach, and AZ Forest will remove around 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over about 30 years.”
AZ Forest’s efforts so far –
Under the company’s programme, planting has moved forward in Australia, Indonesia, Ghana, the UK, the US and France. With new reforestation projects, AstraZeneca reached Brazil, India, Vietnam, Ghana and Rwanda to promote its climate measures, restore nature, promote biodiversity and ecological community over 100,000 hectares worldwide.
The accountability of the projects will be assessed by world-leading delivery partners and independent third-party experts, such as European Forest Institute (EFI). Also, after partnering with EFI and Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), AstraZeneca published a science-based framework for sustainable, resilient and indigenously appropriate landscape regeneration.
With the latest technology in remote sensing and high-resolution imagery, the company aims to maintain the health of trees, soil, water quality, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
