There are promises that are too good to be true. For example, this one: You pay just one euro for a tree planted on the other side of the world; it will be cared for there for you and grow for years until it offsets as much CO₂ as you emit today on, say, a flight from Frankfurt to London.

Doubtful climate protection

With your one-euro tree, you're fighting the climate crisis – that's the promise of the organization Plant for the Planet, which plants trees for companies and individuals in Mexico and has gained considerable notoriety for doing so. But the promise is dubious.

In December, ZEIT (No. 53/20) reported on numerous doubts about the organization's credibility and integrity . Its founder, Felix Finkbeiner, claimed that the trees were being planted in Mexico on "22,500 hectares of destroyed rainforest." However, research revealed that almost half of the stated hectares are located in a protected biosphere reserve for which the organization didn't even have a planting permit. Furthermore, a large portion of the planted areas has long since been forested. Another area was underwater for months.

The organization also gave the impression that its plantations were being monitored by Mexico's state forestry authority, which wasn't the case. Furthermore, it advertised to its donors that 94 percent of the seedlings they donated would survive the difficult first year – something that, as ZEIT discovered, was unproven. The figure merely referred to a non-representative study of a few thousand trees. Felix Finkbeiner has since admitted that the survival of the plants was not even monitored because they wanted to save money. In response to the report in ZEIT, the organization announced a transparency offensive in December. Among other things, it planned to convene an external panel of experts and have auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers audit the books. A first report was scheduled for January. It has not yet been published.

Now, Stern, whose publisher Gruner + Jahr has been a cooperation partner of the organization so far and has itself donated hundreds of thousands of euros, has substantiated many of ZEIT's allegations in further research – and raised new ones.

The organization of the Mexican subsidiary, to which donations from Germany are transferred, is "no longer compatible with German law," wrote Stern magazine . The association's members are the two founders, son and father Finkbeiner, as well as a Mexican entrepreneur who has been a long-time business partner of the family. There are no supervisory bodies, no committees – but there is a questionable clause: According to this clause, if the Mexican association is liquidated, its assets can "be passed on to other non-profit organizations without giving reasons – without any specific purpose." As a result, the publishing house Gruner + Jahr has temporarily suspended its partnership with the organization.

It's not the only company to distance itself from the organization as a result of ZEIT's investigations. The Bitburger Brewery Group announced that it had already suspended Now, other companies have announced to DIE ZEIT that they are temporarily suspending their collaborations with Plant for the Planet. Mustard manufacturer and McDonald's supplier Develey intends to wait for "credible and third-party verified evidence" regarding Plant for the Planet's activities. Develey was one of its closest partners. Develey CEO Michael Durach is even a member of Plant for the Planet's board.its payments to Plant for the Planet in January. Beverage manufacturer Eckes Granini also withdrew from the cooperation early on.

Now, other companies have announced to DIE ZEIT that they are temporarily suspending their collaborations with Plant for the Planet. Mustard manufacturer and McDonald's supplier Develey intends to wait for "credible and third-party verified evidence" regarding Plant for the Planet's activities. Develey was one of its closest partners. Develey CEO Michael Durach is even a member of Plant for the Planet's board.

Who else will buy that?

The major corporation Procter & Gamble, which had a "Pampers forest" planted in Mexico at the beginning of the year, also stated in response to an inquiry that it would suspend the collaboration and "wait before any new actions" until an external audit of the organization has been conducted. The cheese manufacturer Hochland (Patros, Valbrie, Almette) and the Munich-based PR agency Engel & Zimmermann are also suspending their partnerships. Many of the companies are participants in a sustainability initiative at the University of Witten/Herdecke, which had previously recommended Plant for the Planet as a carbon offsetting partner but has now also recommended suspending the collaboration for the time being.

However, its most recent major partner, Sat.1 , is still supporting the planting organization . In March – when doubts about its integrity had long been public – the broadcaster called on its viewers to donate to Plant for the Planet as part of a "Forest Record Week." €1.56 million was raised and went directly to the dubious subsidiary in Mexico for a "Sat.1 Forest." When contacted, the broadcaster explained that it decided on the partnership after the organization assured "maximum transparency and traceability." The broadcaster has now obtained such assurances again. "All donated trees will be planted, as we advertised – Plant for the Planet has confirmed this to us in writing," Sat.1 wrote in response to a request.

Another ally has apparently quietly decided to distance itself from the tree organization: Fridays for Future. To this day, the donations the German climate protection movement collects on its website are held in trust by Plant for the Planet. The activists have not yet established a structure to manage their own accounts. There has been repeated discontent with Plant for the Planet within the movement; chat groups said that funds were not being paid out to the young climate activists quickly enough, and that communication was lacking transparency.

Following ZEIT's December report, Fridays for Future simply removed the tree organization's name from its website. Since then, it has only stated that the donations are being handled by "a well-known NGO." When contacted, the activists declined to comment on their motives.

And Plant for the Planet? "The allegations raised have caused understandable uncertainty among the partners mentioned," Felix Finkbeiner wrote in response to a request for comment. "We will address the criticisms addressed and implement fundamental structural changes."

Now, many companies are temporarily losing a convenient and inexpensive way to create a green image: Plant for the Planet's offer of one euro per tree was significantly cheaper than comparable providers, who charge up to 69 euros for one tree. Companies that cooperated with Plant for the Planet also benefited from their proximity to Felix Finkbeiner, his media prominence, and the positive image of the network of children and young people.

Plant for the Planet lacked only one thing from the start: independent certification. "I'm not aware of any reforestation projects that market carbon credits without certification," says Jutta Kill, who has been analyzing such projects from around the world for the World Rainforest Movement for years. "Emission offsetting is ultimately based on a more or less plausible story of allegedly avoided emissions. Therefore, the certificate is essential for credibility."

Software giant SAP, which itself once donated money for thousands of trees to Plant for the Planet in Mexico, terminated the partnership a year ago. SAP explained in response to a request that it wanted to ensure its partners were "certified according to strict, internationally recognized standards."

Certification is expensive, and only two providers dominate the market. They try to ensure that the promised CO₂ is actually offset during reforestation. Successful reforestation requires suitable land, experienced staff, cooperation with local communities, and years of tree care—in other words, a lot of money.

Plant for the Planet wanted to prove exactly the opposite: that climate protection doesn't have to be so expensive, that reforestation is possible with just one euro per tree. Finkbeiner now says that we'll probably have to charge more for trees soon. It's questionable who will still buy it.

Behind the story

Following the December report, Plant for the Planet repeatedly announced it would take legal action against ZEIT. ZEIT rejected these alleged claims. The organization subsequently took no action. Instead, it repeatedly published false statements about ZEIT and was ordered to cease and desist by a court. Recently, the website stated that the ZEIT report "revealed errors that we had previously either not sufficiently identified or not communicated transparently enough.

Source: https://www.zeit.de/2021/19/plant-for-the-planet-spendengelder-zweifel-glaubwuerdigkeit-schueler-initiative