February is most definitely the month of love, and at TreeSisters, we share a deep love for the Earth! Unless you're a flower or chocolate company, Valentine's Day may never have been that relevant to your business, so this year, we want to make sure everyone's included by making the Earth our Valentine!
Sadly we have taken advantage of the earth for too long, and it is in trouble. The earth's ecosystems are failing as deforestation, pollution and mineral extraction run at record levels. As we enter the UN Decade on Restoration we are each called to get involved in "preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems worldwide." Here in the UK, the hosting of November's COP 26 is driving increased public and private investment as part of a governmental 10-point plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Most other countries around the world are doing similar. New technology will be key, and the renewable energy and transport sectors are taking centre stage.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” - Einstein famously
How might it be if we worked to love the Earth back to health? What would it look like if Cupid's arrow made us fall deeply in love with her and changed our business behaviours? This month we celebrate our growing network of business partners leading the way...
An Earth-loving business requires Earth-loving people.
We can't talk about love without talking about relationships! A loving relationship cherishes the other. Sadly, loving and cherishing the Earth does not come naturally in mainstream Western culture. For many of us, loving the Earth is relearning what it means to be in the right relationship. Much of our work at TreeSisters is guiding women to rediscover their innate connection with Nature. Our numerous programs support healing our inherited wounds of separation and transform our relationship with Nature to one of reciprocity. Our online Inner Journey of the Awakening program has helped thousands of women deepen into a loving relationship with the Earth and, in so doing, has transformed lives.
This inner transformation is core to “saving the planet” and mitigating climate change. It’s heart-warming to partner with other organisations also on a mission to educate and facilitate the process of deeper Nature connections whilst planting trees at the same time.
The Conscious Leader Institute in the USA creates empowering learning journeys for executives from global Fortune 500 businesses, mid-size firms and non-profit organisations to lead with awareness of one's self, the world, and one's purpose within it. Their global coaching and facilitative services are rooted in Nature-based environments and methodologies.
A SoulTrees partner we have worked closely with this past month is Trees&Circles, who offer international dialogue circles designed to help people awaken towards more responsible action through connectedness with Nature. Here is co-founder Veronica Lassus describing their work which, in a little over a year, has planted more than 20,000 trees.
"Trees&Circles was born out of our love for Pachamama and our growing sense of urgency as we became more acutely aware of the current state of the Earth... It is for this reason that we partnered with TreeSisters from the outset...It is beautiful to witness our projects grow and unfold organically, and our work be well received. And even on a personal level, our lives are being touched and transformed in ways we could not have expected.We are convinced that when we put Life first, we tap into a well of abundance beyond financial terms. When we enter the flow of life and let ourselves be touched by life and others, we become more creative, bolder and empowered. At the same time, we feel more freedom and more responsibility to care."
Sharing the Love...
Love does heal. It also uplifts and inspires. As more businesses put the Earth at the centre of what they do, we are witnessing the growth of a new love-based network! Sharing that love to ensure we support life-positive over life-destructive companies is vital. And sharing that love is happening in innovative ways and often in the space where heart and technology can meet. Some of our Company Forest partners are showing us the way and invite you to join them as they play their part in the restorative business revolution:
Giki Badges is a revolutionary app which allows you to scan the barcodes of over 280,000 supermarket products rated against 15 sustainability measures. With the help of the app, over 10,000 UK shoppers are now choosing products that are more organic, responsibly sourced, deliver higher animal welfare standards and contain fewer chemicals.
My Green Pod is an independent UK business with the vision of sharing the real stories behind the brands and people working tirelessly to offer ethical alternatives to mainstream products and services. Through their lifestyle magazine and online ethical marketplace, they support products and services which enable a more conscious lifestyle. Next month we will feature their work in more detail as they announce big plans to become the much-needed ethical alternative to Amazon.
We also love our partnership with Wherefrom, an innovative app-based platform that shares the love through “crowd-sourcing sustainability.” Founder and CEO Adam Williams describes their work here:
"Wherefrom is a platform where citizens review the sustainability of products and plant trees while they do it (...with a little help from TreeSisters!). We're crowdsourcing sustainability - which means we give every individual a chance to have their say and discover more sustainable products. With now over 200,000 reviews, it's becoming easier to find and share those brands which love the earth.
In turn, brands can claim their public profiles and access a wealth of insights which help them evaluate their corporate sustainability strategies. Brands can also communicate directly with our 20,000 (and growing) user base of conscious consumers - sharing campaigns or celebrating their sustainability wins.”
There are so many ways we can make the Earth our Valentine; now, more than ever, we need to. The unfettered economic growth model of the past few decades has taken her to the brink. Our partners are proving, however, that when we are heart-led and purpose-driven, businesses can and do thrive.
So how might you put the Earth centre-stage this year and shower her with gifts of your love? Here are our top tips:
Run a Valentine's Fundraiser and invite your customers, suppliers and employees to join you in raising donations to plant trees. Our Fundraiser pages make it easy.
Show your eternal love by signing up for our partner's 1% for the planet and pledge 1% of your annual profits to plant trees.