Expansion of AZ Forest programme raises
commitment to plant 200 million trees across six continents by
2030
New reforestation projects in Brazil, India,
Vietnam, Ghana and Rwanda in addition to existing projects
including in Australia and Indonesia
AstraZeneca has announced a $400 million investment in its
global AZ Forest programme, raising its commitment to plant 200
million trees by 2030 and ensure their long-term survival. This
includes new or expanded projects in Brazil, India, Vietnam, Ghana
and Rwanda that will contribute to the Company’s climate action,
restore nature, promote biodiversity and build ecological and
community resilience, spanning over 100,000 hectares worldwide.
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AstraZeneca announces $400 million
investment in reforestation and biodiversity in support of climate
action and human health (Photo: Wien Satriady)
The investment builds on AstraZeneca’s initial AZ Forest
commitment, announced in 2020, to plant and maintain more than 50
million trees by the end of 2025 in recognition of the strong
connection between healthy people and a healthy planet.1 Planting
has progressed at pace in Australia, Indonesia, Ghana, the UK, the
US and France with over 300 tree species, allowing the restoration
of biodiversity and natural habitats.2 In addition, the expanded
programme will deliver benefits to local communities, positively
impacting an estimated 80,000 livelihoods.
AZ Forest is part of AstraZeneca’s flagship sustainability
strategy, Ambition Zero Carbon, which is focused on delivering deep
decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting
planetary warming to 1.5°C.3 The Company is on track to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from its operations and fleet by
98% by 2026* and halve its entire value chain footprint by 2030, on
the way to a 90% absolute emissions reduction and becoming
science-based net zero by 2045† at the latest.2 Through AZ Forest,
the Company aims to remove its residual emissions from the
atmosphere from 2030 onwards.
Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “The
twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are damaging
the planet and harming human health. Through AZ Forest, we are
working with local communities and ecological experts to deliver
reforestation at scale, as well as support biodiversity and sustain
livelihoods. We are taking a science-based approach, and AZ Forest
will remove around 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere over about 30 years.”
AZ Forest projects are co-designed with planting experts, local
communities and governments to deliver natural forest restoration
and agroforestry, with co-benefits such as the creation of new
skills and jobs, the protection and recovery of threatened and
endangered species and improved public health.4 Projects will be
audited and assessed by world-leading delivery partners and
independent third-party experts, including the European Forest
Institute (EFI).
Marc Palahí, Chair, Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), said:
“Forests play a key role in fighting climate change, hosting
biodiversity and powering a circular bioeconomy that prospers in
harmony with nature. Forests and trees are the backbone for life on
our planet and the basis for human health and wellbeing. Through
the design and delivery of public-private partnerships like AZ
Forest, which are underpinned by a science-based and principles-led
approach, we can mitigate the impacts of climate change and create
economic and social value for local communities.”
As part of its commitment to reforestation, AstraZeneca has
partnered with the EFI and the CBA to publish a first-of-its kind,
science-based framework for sustainable, resilient and locally
appropriate landscape regeneration. The CBA Principles for
Regenerative Landscapes will enable circular bioeconomy value
chains and restore biodiversity.
AZ Forest contributes to the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org
initiative, a public-private partnership to conserve, restore and
grow one trillion trees by 2030.
Notes
AZ Forest
AZ Forest is AstraZeneca’s commitment to plant and maintain 200
million trees by 2030, in partnership with experts and local
communities. AZ Forest projects support planetary and human health
with significant socio-economic co-benefits and are part of
AstraZeneca’s science-based net zero strategy, Ambition Zero
Carbon.
Building on projects underway in Australia, Indonesia, Ghana,
the UK, the US and France, the expansion of AZ Forest includes new
and expanded projects across Africa, Asia and South America:
- Brazil: A new 30-year AZ Forest partnership with
Biofílica Ambipar and Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPE)
called “Corridors for Life” will plant 12 million trees within the
Atlantic Forest, with over 100 native species planned in each
project area. Creating ecological corridors between fragmented
pockets of forests in the west of São Paulo state, this programme
will build an important habitat for vulnerable and endangered
species.
- India: A new 30-year AZ Forest partnership with
Earthbanc and local implementation partners in the state of
Meghalaya in north-east India will plant an estimated 64 million
trees, focusing on a diverse mix of species. The project is
expected to be the largest of the CBA’s “Living Labs for Nature,
People and Planet”. It will restore nature in this degraded
biodiversity hotspot while supporting farming livelihoods.
- Ghana: An expansion of the existing AZ Forest programme
in Ghana with the CBA, New Generation Plantation Technical
Assistance (NGPTA) and other partners will see an additional 2.2
million trees planted, bringing the total targeted number of
surviving trees to 4.7 million, and restoring 8,000 hectares of
degraded areas in the Atebubu-Amantin and Sene West districts of
central Ghana. This community-led programme, part of a network of
“Living Labs”, seeks to boost forest restoration, agroforestry,
biodiversity and nature-based business models for small-holder
farmers.
- Rwanda: AstraZeneca has provided funding for the pilot
phase of an agroforestry project with smallholder farmers to help
accelerate the development of a new 30-year project in partnership
with the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) and
Reforest’Action. The project will plant more than 5.8 million
trees, with a focus on agroforestry and agricultural land
management which will benefit local communities and improve
livelihoods. With the aim to be another “Living Lab”, the
“MuLaKiLa” project will help more than 30,000 farming households in
what is one of the largest forest restoration initiatives in
Rwanda.
- Vietnam: AstraZeneca has committed to planting 22.5
million trees across at least 30,500 hectares to restore Vietnam’s
forests and landscapes. This new investment will allow biodiversity
to flourish, provide sustainable livelihoods for more than 17,000
small-holder farmers, improve diets and nutrition, and conserve
soil and water.
- Additional projects are in development.
AZ Forest projects support planetary and human health with
significant socio-economic co-benefits, as part of AstraZeneca’s
science-based net zero strategy, Ambition Zero Carbon. By the end
of 2022, over 10.5 million trees had been planted, despite a global
pandemic, in:
- Australia: In partnership with Greening Australia and
One Tree Planted, more than four million trees have been planted
(total programme of 25 million), including 260 native tree species,
supporting vulnerable and endangered wildlife species.
- Indonesia: In partnership with One Tree Planted and
Trees4Trees, more than three million trees have been planted, with
over 13,000 farmers opting into agroforestry activities in
2022.
- Ghana: Over one million trees have been planted out of
an initial commitment to plant three million surviving trees,
driving ecological and community resilience through the
community-led “Living Lab” project in partnership with CBA.
- France: AstraZeneca has replanted 450 rare oak trees
lost in the devastating storms of 1990 and 1999 at the Palace of
Versailles. The oak trees provide a natural habitat for
butterflies, birds, fungi and mammals, promoting biodiversity and
bringing life back to the iconic gardens of Versailles.
- UK: More than 470,000 trees have been planted in
Scotland and England with Forestry England and Borders Forest Trust
Scotland, to create high-quality woodland areas that provide
additional green space in support of physical and mental
wellbeing.
- US: More than 100,000 trees have been planted to date,
restoring more than 100 kilometres of riverside woodlands in
partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery,
development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in
Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including
Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism and Respiratory &
Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over
100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of
patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com follow the Company
on Twitter @AstraZeneca.
References
- AstraZeneca plc. Ambition Zero Carbon. 2020. Available at:
https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/articles/2020/ambition-zero-carbon-22012020.html#.
[Last accessed: June 2023].
- AstraZeneca plc. Sustainability Report 2022. 2023. Available
at:
https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/dam/az/Sustainability/2023/pdf/Sustainability_Report_2022.pdf.
[Last accessed: June 2023].
- United Nations Treaty Collection. Paris Agreement. 2015.
Available at:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf.
[Last accessed: June 2023].
- AstraZeneca plc. AZ Forest. 2022. Available at:
https://www.astrazeneca.com/sustainability/environmental-protection/az-forest.html.
[Last accessed: June 2023].
* From a 2015 baseline
† From a 2019 baseline
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