We plant a forest

At a Glance

2021/2022:

• CO²-Compensation for the year 2020
• 10 hectar land
• ca. 9.540 trees
• 63 helper

2020/2021

• CO²-Compensation for the year 2019
• 13 hectar land
• ca. 28.000 trees
• 70 helper

Voluntary CO2 compensation through reforestation in Malawi

We all cause emissions in our daily lives, e.g. through food, travel, housing, heating etc. By rethinking and changing individual lifestyles, many people manage to reduce their personal carbon footprint. However, it is not always possible to avoid emissions completely. Particularly in an economic context, a certain amount of CO2 emissions will remain even if there are many ways to save. To improve our carbon footprint beyond reducing plastic, using green electricity and offering vegan products, we have decided to voluntarily offset CO2 through a climate protection project. However, this should never legitimise environmentally harmful actions or replace reduction efforts.

For the climate, it is not decisive where CO2 is emitted, saved or offset, so emissions caused in one place can be compensated worldwide. Since trees store carbon and thus contribute to relieving the atmosphere, projects for sustainable forest management or reforestation are very suitable for CO2 compensation.

2022 - the reforestation continues

After the first 13 hectares of our Coffee Fellows Forest were planted in 2020 / 2021, the seedlings have been thriving ever since. January is the rainy season in Malawi and therefore the conditions were perfect to continue the reforestation this year. Due to Corona, the CO² offset requirement from 2020 is slightly lower. On site, we were able to conclude lease agreements with three additional farmers for almost 10 ha. A total of 63 people dug 9450 holes in Ntschisi and planted them with tree seedlings. In addition, the first 13 ha were inspected and replanted if necessary. In this way, we can ensure that our Coffee Fellows Forest continues to grow steadily and sustainably - and has already grown to approximately 23 hectares, which corresponds to an area of 23 soccer fields.

2021 - Beginning if the project

The first question was how much CO² we actually emit as a company. With the help of the experts from FORLIANCE, we were able to determine that we caused 1,032 tons of CO² in 2019 through the consumption of heating, electricity and vehicles (the so-called Scope 1 and 2). With the help of our reforestation project "Coffee Fellows Forest" in Malawi, we want to offset these pollutant emissions over the next 20 years.

To achieve this goal, approximately 13 hectares of land must be reforested. This corresponds to an area of 13 soccer fields and the planting of about 28,000 trees. First of all, a place had to be found where such a project could be implemented in a meaningful and holistic way. Together with a local advisor, we went to Malawi in search of suitable areas for the Coffee Fellows reforestation. Near Ntchisi, we were able to lease 13 hectares of land from five farmers for 20 years. We pay the landowners an annual rent and thus give them and their families a predictable, secure income.

With the start of the rainy season at the end of 2020, the seedlings of various local trees that had been grown for almost a year were planted. These will one day form our "Coffee Fellows Forest" and some of them will even bear fruit that will provide food for animals and new habitat. Besides absorbing CO2, the planting of the trees also serves to re-establish native flora and fauna and also to create jobs for many local people. During the fertile rainy season, about 15 people planted about 20,000 of our seedlings every day for six weeks. Work was done from 7am to 4.30pm, with tea and lunch breaks, so that there was a fixed work schedule. Workers were rotated every week to give as many people as possible the chance to earn a living. In this way, almost 70 people could be employed for planting and the time window of the rainy season could be used optimally so that the plants had the highest possible chance of survival. The remaining 8,000 seedlings will be replanted in the next two to three years, as usually not one hundred percent of the trees survive the first critical year. The stand is therefore checked annually and replenished accordingly so that a dense forest can develop.

So after 20 years, we will be able to proudly claim that we have offset our CO2 emissions for 2019. As we also want to offset our environmental impact through reforestation in the coming years, the "Coffee Fellows Forest" will not only grow in height, but also in "width". Each year we will continue to reforest about 13ha of land in Malawi, and in addition to the positive effect on the environment, we will also be able to secure work and income for many more people in Ntchisi.