Berlin-based Christian Kroll set out in 2009 with a mission to create a search engine with a positive environmental and social impact. He founded Ecosia, an internet search engine that plants trees while you browse the web. On average 45 searches is enough to plant one tree somewhere in the world with the money coming from companies paying for ad spaces on your search page, much like Google, and 80% of the monthly profits go into their tree planting efforts.
Other than planting trees, Ecosia have a project aimed to help firefighting efforts in Brazil which aims to regrow 25 million trees through firefighting in the next 10 years.
The company does not accept volunteers for their efforts, rather using the money they receive to employ local communities in countries such as Peru, Brazil, Madagascar, and many more. The trees planted are mostly native to the area, though with exceptions for non-invasive species of fruit or nut trees that can provide food and income for locals. The best thing to do to support them is simply to use the Ecosia search engine instead of Google or Bing.
Other than planting trees, Ecosia have a project designed to help firefighting efforts in Brazil which aims to regrow 25 million trees through firefighting in the next 10 years. They also have a program that gives a ‘green leaf’ icon next to the websites of companies that have been known to demonstrate environmentally friendly business practices or supply sustainable products and services.
You can use the Ecosia search engine with their extension for Chrome here or through their website at www.ecosia.org
