Tree planting has sometimes been treated as a nice thing for businesses to do, rather than meaningful environmental action.
And it's true that planting trees isn't a solution to climate change on its own.
But that doesn't mean it isn't important.
In fact, the latest data on global forest fires is a powerful reminder of just how much pressure forests are under and why restoring them matters.
Forests are facing increasing pressure
A recent analysis from the World Resources Institute, using data from the University of Maryland, found that between 2001 and 2025, forest fires burned more than twice as much tree cover each year as they did two decades ago.
Four of the five worst years for global forest fires have occurred since 2021, with 2024 setting a new record for fire-related tree cover loss.
Between 2023 and 2025, fires accounted for around 43% of global tree cover loss each year, compared with an average of around 27% between 2001 and 2022.
In tropical primary forests, the picture is even more striking. In 2024, fires were responsible for almost half of all tree cover loss – the first time fire overtook agriculture as the leading cause of forest loss in these forests.
Forests do far more than provide somewhere for trees to grow.
They store carbon, support biodiversity, protect soil and water, provide livelihoods and help regulate local climates.
When forests are lost or degraded, we lose all of those benefits too.
So yes, we need to protect the forests we have. But we also need to restore forests where we can.
Tree planting is one way to help
Restoring forests isn't simply about putting a tree in the ground and counting it.
Good restoration projects consider the local ecosystem, appropriate species, land conditions and the long-term health of the landscape.
Done well, tree planting and forest restoration can help restore ecosystems, support biodiversity and, as trees grow, remove carbon from the atmosphere.
And that makes tree planting a simple, tangible way for businesses and individuals to contribute.
What if every purchase could help?
For ecommerce businesses, tree planting can be built directly into the customer journey.
A customer places an order. A tree is funded as part of that purchase.
It's a small action, but when it happens with every order, it can quickly add up.
More importantly, it gives the customer something tangible.
Instead of simply saying "we care about the planet," a brand can tell its customers exactly what their purchase helped support.
Your order helped plant a tree.
That's a much more meaningful story than another sustainability statement buried on a website.
And there is a reason we put so much emphasis on the evidence behind that story.
Not just planted. Verified.
One of the biggest problems with environmental claims is knowing what actually happened on the ground.
That's why Switch2Zero works with veritree.
veritree specialises in verified restoration, using technology and on-the-ground monitoring to track tree planting and restoration projects from planting through to ongoing monitoring.
Planting partners collect evidence from restoration sites, including geo-tagged information, images and planting data. veritree then checks that information through multiple stages of verification, using ground-level evidence alongside technologies such as satellite imagery, drones and remote sensors.
If we're asking a brand to tell its customers that their purchase helped plant a tree, we want that story to be backed by evidence.
And that's exactly why we chose to work with veritree.
Sometimes, we really do just need more trees
Tree planting isn't going to solve climate change on its own.
But forests are under increasing pressure, and restoring them has a role to play.
For ecommerce brands, planting a tree with every purchase is a simple way to turn something that happens thousands of times a day (a customer placing an order) into a positive environmental action.
And when that action is backed by real project data and verification, you can give customers something much more powerful than a sustainability claim.
You can show them what their purchase helped make possible. 🌳
Make every order count
Switch2Zero makes it simple for ecommerce businesses to connect their store and plant a tree with every purchase.
Your customers get a tangible impact story. Your business gets verified environmental impact you can track and share.
