To highlight the immediate need for protection and restoration of UK & Ireland forests, Ben participated in a short film, released as part of HP’s collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation.
HP Inc. has announced a collaboration with TV presenter, and UN Patron of the wilderness, Ben Fogle, which sees the technology company further commitments to forest conservation in the UK & Ireland as part of their global comprehensive climate action strategy.
As an ambassador to WWF, and a UN Patron of the Wilderness, Ben Fogle is one of the leading voices in tree preservation and reforestation. In a short film, released as part of this collaboration, Fogle highlights the immediate need for protection of UK woodlands and their role in the battle against climate change. The partnership, which includes non-profit organisation Arbor Day Foundation, sees Ben Fogle at a forest in Frodsham, Cheshire, getting stuck in with volunteers as he helps the UK reforestation effort by planting a tree himself.
The campaign comes at a critical time, as the UK has only 13% tree cover, lagging behind the rest of Europe which averages 37%. In order to be net-zero by 2050, the UK must reach 19%.
As part of the partnership with Ben Fogle and Arbor Day Foundation, viewers of Ben Fogle’s video on Instagram will be able to contribute to tree growing initiatives as HP will plant 3 trees in the United Kingdom for every eligible comment received during the promotional period that explains what trees mean to that user (T&C’s apply).
Dave Prezzano, Managing Director UK & Ireland at HP, said: “Whilst we’re proud of our reforestation achievements through initiatives such as Forest Positive, HP is driven to accomplishing even more within this space. Our partnership with Ben Fogle and Arbor Day Foundation highlights our commitment to tackling climate change and paving the way for other organisations to establish their reforestation efforts so, as a collective, we can achieve a carbon neutral future.”
The Mersey Forest Foundation is one of many tree preservation charities that have benefited from donations as part of HP’s partnership with Arbor Day Foundation. HP’s work with the Arbor Day Foundation, along with other partners, is responsible for the donation of millions of trees to grass roots organisations across the world. These partnerships have helped support HP’s efforts in planting 1 million trees during 2020, and HP is set to plant 1 million more trees by the end of 2021.
“One of the things the Arbor Day Foundation does best is to help local planting partners take meaningful action in their community to plant trees,” said Dan Lambe, President of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Planting trees will help build up urban tree canopies and reverse deforestation, which is absolutely vital in the fight against climate change. We’re so excited to be working alongside HP and the World Wildlife Fund to help fund reforestation efforts in the United Kingdom and Ireland.”
To date, HP and the Arbor Day Foundation have planted over 27,000 trees across the UK and Ireland.
