UPS to Plant 50 Million Trees by 2030, Promoting Well-Being in Low-Income & Underserved Communities Globally.
Pledge by UPS
This pledge will take place from 2020 to 2030
Pledge overview
The UPS Foundation is moving our world forward by delivering what matters. Our focused approach combines our philanthropy with UPS’s global network and the expertise of our people to deliver HELP – Health & Humanitarian Relief, Equity & Economic Empowerment, Local Community Engagement, and Planet Protection – where it’s needed.
Inspired by the passion of UPS volunteers, The UPS Foundation has collaborated with leading environmental partners to plant 15 million trees in 66 countries across six continents by 2020.
Now we’re expanding our work by joining the 1t.org effort: UPS pledges to plant an additional 35 million trees between 2020 and 2030 in alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) reporting period, and reach 50 million trees. Our global commitment will prioritize planting trees in low-income and underserved communities in cities and developing regions worldwide.
With their ability to absorb carbon, slow erosion, and improve soil and water quality, trees are one of our most powerful tools to address climate change and restore our natural environments. But planting trees can also have a profound impact on our individual lives and communities. Through our work, we’re creating jobs and skill-building opportunities, helping farmers grow more crops, promoting better health in cities, and creating spaces for communities to come together.
Our ambition isn’t just to plant trees – it’s to change the relationship that humans have with the environment and each other for the better. As we train thousands of people each year in tree planting, soil regeneration, sustainable agricultural practices, and community engagement, we create a powerful network of advocates that have an impact beyond the trees we planted together.
Actions in this pledge
Restoring and growing trees and forest landscapes - 35 million trees
- Reforestation
- Agroforestry
- Mangrove restoration
- Watershed protection and erosion control
- Urban tree planting
The UPS Foundation’s global work is always informed by local needs, whether it’s our reforesting effort to support endangered ecosystems in the southeast United States, or our work to improve soil quality and train farmers in conservation agriculture in southern Mexico. Our efforts are wide-ranging and vary by year, dependent on the expressed needs of each community we serve and the guidance of our expert partners. The UPS Foundation tracks all efforts internally on an annual basis.
Enabling activities for trees and forest landscapes
- Nursery and seedling development
- Sustainable forest management
- Education and capacity building
- Community mobilisation
- Youth engagement
- Land, community rights & enabling institutional frameworks
- Data collection, management and technological tools
In addition to planting trees for environmental stewardship, The UPS Foundation empowers the communities we serve via employment opportunities, environmental and agricultural education, mentorship, skill-building activities, training in air quality monitoring, and community-building in cities. The UPS Foundation requires our tree planting partners to report trees planted and lives impacted via annual impact reports.
Our ecologically and socially responsible approach
The UPS Foundation and our implementing partners adhere to ecologically-responsible, climate-informed, and socially responsible tree selection and planting, including by restoring threatened species, planting native species and trees that yield food, and positioning local organizations and individuals to lead many aspects of tree planting and care (including through paid job opportunities).
Our results tracking
Tracking and reporting will be managed by individual partner organizations and aggregated for 1t.org by The UPS Foundation.
Ecological metrics
Clean water, soil, and air, plant and wildlife biodiversity, soil stabilization and regeneration, reforestation, improved habitats for native and migratory wildlife populations, trainings in water-saving methods delivered.
Social metrics
Lives impacted by economic benefits, jobs, improved livelihoods, health, skill-buildings and trainings in sustainable livelihoods delivered to local communities, scientific advancements and research enabled by investment (e.g. Green Heart Project re: investigating potential human health benefits of urban greening), agroforestry and sustainable farming trainings and workshops delivered (e.g. Forest Garden Approach), policy changes or bylaws protecting ecosystems, support of indigenous communities, contribution to UN SDGs.
Our system of accreditation
The UPS Foundation receives annual impact reports from our partner organizations. These reports are compiled and verified by an internal audit process as well as by an external third-party to ensure we are using best practices for tracking methods.
Our partners
The Nature Conservancy, Arbor Day Foundation, EARTHDAY.ORG, National Park Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, Keep America Beautiful, the Student Conservation Association, and local community partners.
Our locations
We are working at locations across Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Czechia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK), and United States of America (USA).
The UPS Foundation will prioritize planting trees in low-income and underserved communities in cities and developing areas worldwide, as well as in 50 global urban and metro areas.
Our implementation progress
Pledge implementation progress reporting is managed in collaboration with IUCN’s Restoration Barometer, and is required annually from the year following pledge publication.
UPS pledge implementation progress report 2022 (with supporting documentation)
UPS pledge implementation progress dashboard 2023 (with supporting documentation)
