SA Taxi offsets 44.2 tonnes of carbon with tree donations to schools

SA Taxi, South Africa’s only independent financer of minibus taxis and one of the country’s few certified developmental credit providers, has set a precedent in the minibus taxi industry by voluntarily offsetting carbon through Food & Trees for Africa’s carbon offset programme Trees for All.

 

In the course of September (Arbor Month), Food & Trees for Africa will plant 120 trees on behalf of SA Taxi at six beneficiaries. Five of the beneficiaries are in Gauteng (David Hellen Peta High School, Zonke Trust Community, Ekuphumuleni Project, Mdelwa Hlongwane Primary School and Tshedimoso Garden Project) and one is in KwaZulu-Natal (beneficiary still to be confirmed).

 

The trees will offset an estimated 44.2 tonnes of carbon, at a cost of just under R70 000 to SA Taxi.

 

The series of plantings kicks off on 18 September and will be completed by 30 October 2015. Representatives of both SA Taxi and Food & Trees for Africa will be present at all plantings.

 

Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) is South Africa’s first national social and environmental enterprise. It works towards a healthier, more sustainable and low carbon future through developing, managing and promoting greening, climate change action, sustainable natural resource management, organic farming and food security programmes.

 

FTFA’s Trees for All programme greens, educates, offsets carbon emissions and transforms schools, homes for the aged, clinics, community halls and centres and other community centres into healthier more sustainable environments.

 

FTFA responds to applications for trees from communities living in barren, dusty townships and delivers trees with instructions on how to plant and maintain them. Millions of trees have been distributed to schools, clinics, old age homes, hospices, police stations and other community centres, but there are calls for many more.

 

Trees are funded through paperless billing, recycling, percentage of product contributions and carbon offset. Individuals and companies give trees and receive certificates for themselves, or as gifts for others.

 

About FTFA

 

Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) is South Africa’s first national social and environmental enterprise working towards a healthier more sustainable and low carbon future through developing, managing and promoting greening, climate change action, sustainable natural resource management, organic farming and food security programmes.

 

Over 4.2 million trees have been distributed and thousands of natural food gardens, bamboo projects and organic farms for historically disadvantaged communities have been developed. FTFA has been a pioneer of climate change response, mitigation and adaptation, launching the first South African carbon calculator, the Carbon Protocol of South Africa and the Climate Hero Awards Africa.