1,000 trees planted in two days by Swindon’s Arval
One thousand trees have been planted over two days on 17 and 18 April by employees from vehicle leasing and mobility company Arval, which has its UK headquarters in Swindon.
The environmental initiative is part of the company’s global “1 Electrified Vehicle = 1 Tree” scheme, a biodiversity initiative which pledges that a tree will be planted for every new electrified vehicle (EV) it leases, and could result in around 700,000 trees being planted globally by 2025.
In the UK, the initiative has so far seen more than 41,000 trees planted, which will absorb around 6,150 tonnes of CO2 over the next 30 years. Additionally, they will generate around 123,000 animal shelters and create more than 5,800 days of employment.
The project took place at Appleton near Oxford, which is the sixth UK site where Arval UK is carrying out tree planting and regeneration with the help of environmental specialist Reforest’Action. It follows on from locations in North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire and West Sussex. Climate-resilient tree species being planted at Appleton include oak, lime, cherry and wild service tree.
Zoe Maitland, Head of Sustainability at Arval UK, explained: “As a business, we are committed to playing our part when it comes to environmental issues such as reducing our own operational carbon footprint and partnering with our clients in the transition to low carbon mobility. 1 Electrified Vehicle = 1 Tree is part of that approach.
“Around 45 people from our Swindon office planted 1,000 native trees which are suited to our climate at the new site. There’s a lot of enthusiasm about the project here and we enjoyed getting our hands and boots dirty planting the saplings in a beautiful woodland environment. Thankfully we had the best of the weather too.”
Frank de Visscher, Arval UK's Chief Financial Officer, includes David Knill, Head of the Environmental Impact and Engagement Group and Zoe Maitland, Head of Sustainability, planting the 1000th tree.
Reforest’Action is is a B Corp-certified company dedicated to preserving, restoring and creating forests around the world in response to the climate emergency and biodiversity loss.
Clara Manuel, Reforest’Action Forest Engineer, said: “The planting exercise in Appleton saw saplings of a wide variety of native broadleaf trees being planted and we’re proud to support Arval on its mission to increase biodiversity, globally.
“Once established these trees will generate many benefits in the local area; supporting life above and below ground, they store will carbon and sustain jobs locally, with people tending and caring for the trees as they mature. Similar to many of our UK planting sites, the land at Appleton was selected because the existing woodland was affected by diseases such as Ash Dieback which is caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea. As part of Arval’s work, important planting and natural regeneration works will be undertaken to support the renewal of the forest ecosystem and make sure it continues to fulfill its environmental, landscape, social and economic functions.”
For more information on switching to electric vehicles, visit the website: www.arval.co.uk/business-leasing/fleet-go-electric
