We pictured it all so clearly: a jolly good party in our stunning, climate-neutral new office. But then a pandemic had to come and rain on our parade… A pandemic that’s now being directly linked to deforestation! Because excessive logging forces wild animals to live in closer proximity to humans, with all the viral consequences that entails.

Sarah Parent van GoForest

Instead of popping corks, we’ll be planting 1500 new trees

So circumstances forced us to postpone our party plans. Around the same time, we got to know Sarah Parent, the founder of Go Forest. Stef (our do-gooder CEO who networks 24/7) had struck up a conversation with her on LinkedIn. Excellent timing, in fact, because Sarah happened to have a brand-new website that needed translating.

Sarah: “The idea behind Go Forest is to offer companies a low-threshold way of making a real difference. By purchasing trees, any SME can help make the world a better place. Together, we can slow down global warming by restoring biodiversity and working to alter human behaviour.”

That inspiring vision got us thinking. “What if we planted 1500 trees to celebrate our 15th anniversary?” Stef wondered. One thing led to another: Blue Lines translated Go Forest’s website into French and decided to turn those leafy dreams into reality – we would plant 1500 trees to mark our 15th anniversary.

One million trees: a wish come true

Sarah: “With that, Blue Lines brought us one step closer to fulfilling our first major goal of planting 1 million trees. A goal that, incidentally, was my former employer Philip Cracco’s dying wish. He inspired me to make business go hand-in-hand with environmentalism. When he passed away after a long battle with illness, I took concrete steps to make his final wish come true. Xavier Goethals, Topglass’ manager, and Antoine Geerinckx, the founder of CO2logic, offered me their support. That’s how Go Forest took root and started to grow.

A forest starts with a single tree, a new way of life with a single step

Sarah: “Our long-term ambition is to go way beyond planting one million new trees. We want to change people’s behaviour, to actually address the root causes of deforestation and soil erosion. And we want to inspire and motivate people to make their business more sustainable, to help create a better world.”

 

Want to become a leader for a greener world just like Blue Lines? Then head to Go Forest, donate your very own tree and contribute to reforestation in places whose population need your support the most.

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