Ashland has announced its commitment to support a collaborative forest restoration effort of The Nature Conservancy to help Plant a Billion Trees by 2030, advancing the broader development goals of the United Nations, specifically the Sustainable Development Goal for Life on Land.

Ashland’s donation of $20,000 will be used to plant approximately 10,000 trees in Brazil, China, Mexico and the United States. These are key regions where Ashland operates and there is need for reforestation and sustainable farming education. Mature trees can absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Once mature, these plantings could result in up to 480,000 pounds of carbon dioxide offsets annually*.

“Trees provide so many benefits to our everyday lives,” said Bill Stanley, state director for The Nature Conservancy, Ohio. “Not only are they beautiful, they also clean our air, provide our water resources, help curb climate change, and create homes for thousands of species of plants and animals. Planting a Billion Trees can help save the Earth from deforestation.”

In February Ashland joined the global movement of leading companies to align operations with the ambitious aim of the Paris Climate Accord to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. The specialty materials company has also made the UN Global Compact and its principles part of the company’s business strategy, culture and day-to-day operations.

“Ashland is excited about supporting The Nature Conservancy’s mission. After planting trees, their staff and scientists work with a network of in-country partners including governments, forestry companies, local cooperatives, non-governmental organizations and local communities to offer assistance and technical guidance using established conservancy projects as a model to accelerate reforestation results and minimize costs for long-term protection,” said Guillermo Novo, chairman and chief executive officer, Ashland. “Our global organization has an earnest and heartfelt approach towards sustainability and the local communities in which we operate. We will continue to intensify our focus on the environment, social and governance (ESG).”

More than 1 billion people in 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. As a global specialty materials company, Ashland focuses sustainability efforts on three defined areas: sourcing, operations, and solutions.