Search Engine that Plants Trees - Global

This activity channels the monetary potential of web searching to help build resilience to the effects of climate change in the parts of the world that need it most. Search Engine that Plants Trees, also known as Ecosia, can be used to search or shop the web like any other search engine – but also donates 80% of its profits to a tree planting project in Burkina Faso.

Fast facts:

From December 2009 until July 2013, Ecosia donated approximately EUR 1.2 million (80% of its gross revenue) to the Brazilian chapter of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which invested in both lobbying for tougher legislation and ground-level protection efforts to stop illegal logging and mining in protected areas;
From August 2013 to December 2014, Ecosia supported the tree planting efforts of The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees program in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Some 1 million new native trees funded by Ecosia and its users are set to sequester an estimated 22,600 metrics tonnes of CO2 in the first 10 years of their lives;
Since January 2015, Ecosia has partnered with tree-planting experts WeForest and Ondernemers Zonder Grenze (OZG) in Burkina Faso.

The problem

Deforestation remains one of the biggest single drivers of increasing carbon emissions.

The solution

Ecosia is a search engine that plants trees with its advertising revenue. It has partnered with Microsoft's Bing to use its search index, as well as Bing's web advertisement feed, to provide Ecosia's users with answers to everyday search queries – just like Yahoo! or Google. Ecosia earns money when users search and click on search ads in or near the results, or when they make an online purchase through one of the displayed affiliate links. Ecosia then uses 80% of the profits it earns to plant trees via its tree planting partners WeForest and OZG.

Helping the planet

Newly planted trees have the power to restart water cycles, bringing with them new grass and other vegetation. This rejuvenation of the landscape attracts wildlife back to the land and nourishes local farmers' livestock.

Helping people

Many diverse communities in Burkina Faso's rural central and eastern areas benefit from this activity. Ecosia partners, WeForest and OZG, communicated with local leaders in advance how trees could be planted in the most effective way. Elders were consulted, as requested by tribal leaders, and beneficiary communities were required to sign contracts that ensure women are also allowed to earn from the tree planting project. Many of the seeds used for new trees were purchased from local women who collected them from existing forests. Local communities were then tasked with the longer-term nurturing of the trees, as well as being educated in sustainable use of trees and accompanying vegetation.

Scaling Up

The search engine is adopted by new users everyday all over the world. The larger this activity grows; the more trees can be planted due to ad click via search results.