7000 Mangroves
For the campaign, we planted 7000 mangroves in Indonesia online (https://www.edenprojects.org ) for 5ct each. We then began gradually giving away the resulting offset of 2157.4 tons to anyone who was willing to give something of themselves away.
Through our forms, users were able to indicate their polluting actions. To the best of our knowledge, we converted these climate sins into CO2 emissions and compensated them. We then signed and stamped the certificates and returned them to the senders by mail. All certificates were scanned and published on the company‘s Instagram account. So we appeared as a charity project, but instead of collecting donations, we gave away certificates.
The reactions to our „generosity“ varied greatly among the onlookers. They ranged from gratitude and amusement to pity, anger and accusations of imposture. We wanted to create a space where people could form an opinion on CO2 compensation without openly criticizing it.
The concept brings with it other challenges besides a colonial flavor. A tree, to reach its full CO2 offset potential, must grow to its natural end. Once it has been included in a balance, it should theoretically be excluded from all subsequent balances. Edenprojects presents itself a a trustworthy non-profit organization, thus fulfilling the first of the two main criteria. However, it remains open whether such a commitment is ultimately accounted for in Germany or Indonesia.