2023 could have been a turning point. But instead of real, structural change — the kind the climate crisis commands — we got murky sustainability reports, some amounting to little more than smokescreens for inadequate climate action. Too many companies showed, yet again, that they are unprepared for what has already happened.
But there’s another way forward, and Ecosia is proof. Because we don’t mess with half-measures, our report can be summed up in three simple points:
- We dedicated 100% of our profits to climate action. Every cent. That way, we captured and prevented 10,000 times more CO2 than we emitted.
- We produced enough renewable energy to power all searches twice over. In 2023, we invested over €9 million into renewable energy systems, including loans. This means every search crowds out dirty energy from the electricity grid.
- We planted and protected 25 million trees. In 2023, we planted 500 different species around the world. We expect that these trees will capture 1,250,000 tons of CO2 over the next 20 years.
In other words, we went all in for the planet and, thanks to you, were able to make strides in regenerating it. Together, we helped bring tree species back from the brink of extinction. We launched an €800,000 wildfire prevention and response fund. Biodiversity reports from our planting partners are heartening, with sightings of black lion tamarins, jaguars, and a family of chimpanzees. They tell us that they hear insects again. That birds have returned to our planting sites.
When nature thrives, lives change. SAPAD, one of our partners in Kenya, has reported that children’s school enrollments increased thanks to their parent’s employment in nurseries. Farmers in Côte d'Ivoire reported that they no longer have to buy fertilizers because the trees our partner APAF has planted have boosted their harvests. And we saw with our own eyes how Bassouri and Khlodia Seck have transformed their vulnerable monoculture into a resilient, productive forest.
Regeneration is simpler than it sounds – all it takes to get started is a search. Provided, of course, that your search engine uses 100% of its profits for the planet, produces clean energy, and plants and protects millions of trees where they’re needed most.
