Following the 2019-2020 catastrophic Australian bushfires, Grace Worldwide Australia recognised the urgent need to act on climate change and has partnered with Greenfleet with the aim to completely offset carbon emissions generated by the company’s fleet.
With nearly three billion animals and 272 plant species, including 100 threatened and 22 critically endangered species lost, it was time to act.
After conducting research into how best to respond to this devastation, Grace commenced this corporate social responsibility initiative in December 2020 and partnered with Greenfleet. Greenfleet is an environmental not-for-profit organisation that offsets carbon emissions via an innovative native reforestation programme across Australia and New Zealand.
Greenfleet’s mission is to protect the climate by planting native biodiverse forests to offset carbon emissions. Already Greenfleet has offset 1,657 tonnes of carbon on behalf of Grace. This equates to removing 385 average-sized cars off the road for a year. Grace expects to continue its partnership with Greenfleet into the future to protect Australia’s unique wildlife and native forests by reducing its fleet’s impact on the environment.
“At Greenfleet, we are restoring native forests, and growing climate hope, thanks to the contributions of our amazing supporters, just like Grace Worldwide,” said Wayne Wescott, CEO of Greenfleet. ”Year after year, individuals and organisations help Greenfleet plant more biodiverse native forests to capture carbon emissions and it’s their continuous support which makes a tangible and positive difference to the environment.”
“By partnering with Greenfleet, we are confident that our climate action provides genuine and lasting environmental benefits,” said Grace Managing Director, Steven Brown.
Developing koala habitat
In addition to the carbon offset initiative for the company’s fleet, Grace has committed to further extending its partnership with Greenfleet to plant a tree for each container received into Grace’s Australian branches throughout 2021. These trees will provide the much-needed habitat for recovering koala population and will provide prime koala food and tree diversity in the area.
The reforestation land specifically designated for the import container initiative is situated on a site called Dangerbridge, north of the well-known holiday destination of Noosa in south east Queensland. The site is surrounded by the Cooloola National Park and the remnants of a Sub-tropical Lowland Rainforest, which is listed on the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
“We are proud of the impact we’re making,” said Steven. “By offsetting our emissions with Greenfleet, we are taking practical action against climate change and helping to restore Australia’s forests, recreating crucial habitat for native wildlife and transforming degraded land back to its natural state.”