Business partnership
FAQs

Your business partnership questions answered.

About International Tree Foundation

International Tree Foundation is the world’s oldest tree planting organisation. We are a charity founded in 1922 that exists to work with local communities to plant trees and restore forests in places where, together, we can make the fastest, most lasting impact for communities and the future of our planet. Our holistic approach tackles social, economic and environmental challenges through tree planting and forest restoration.
International Tree Foundation exists to plant, protect and promote the silent work that trees do to help us all. It’s an endeavour we embarked on over 100 years ago. And it is just as vital today as it was a century ago.
Our mission is to plant trees and restore forests in places where they make the fastest, most lasting impact for the communities that plant them and the future of our planet.
ITF works around the world to plant trees with local communities. Our core tree planting programmes focus on East Africa and the UK, restoring landscapes where restoration can have the greatest impact for people and nature.
We also support community-led restoration projects around the world through partnerships with trusted local organisations. Over our 100-year history, ITF has worked with communities and partners in more than 90 countries.
ITF’s work is making a real difference, driving progress on 8 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From boosting social and economic development to managing natural resources sustainably and tackling climate change head-on, we're creating fast and lasting impact where it makes the biggest difference.
Not all tree planting delivers results. On average, nearly half of saplings planted in tropical restoration projects die within five years. ITF has more than a century’s experience doing it properly. Our teams monitor, maintain and protect our trees for years, tracking survival using field data and GIS technology. That's why we get lasting results – at our recent project in Uganda’s Mount Elgon National Park, independently run assessments recorded a tree survival rate of 92%.
Furthermore, many tree planting schemes are investor-backed businesses. They take a margin and pass the planting to organisations like us. ITF is a registered charity. So no shareholders, no profit margin, no investment return extracted from your donation. That means every pound is invested directly into our work.
With over 100 years of expertise, ITF delivers measurable environmental and social benefits, including reforestation and sustainable livelihoods, while contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our transparent and collaborative approach offers customisable partnerships, from co-branded campaigns to employee tree-planting initiatives, which will enhance brand reputation, support your sustainability objectives and engage your staff and customers in meaningful environmental action.
By partnering with ITF, you’ll be showcasing a genuine commitment to meaningful and lasting environmental protection.
Many reforestation schemes are actually investor-backed businesses: they take a margin before the money reaches the ground and pass the planting responsibility to organisations like us. ITF is different. We’re a registered charity, so no shareholders, no profit margin, no investment return extracted from your donation. Every pound is reinvested directly into our work: community-led restoration, species selection, nursery management, post-planting monitoring and the long-term local relationships that help trees survive. We’ve been doing this since 1922, not because the ESG sector made it profitable, but because we’ve always believed that trees can transform landscapes and lives. That commitment is what your partnership funds – planting trees, not profits. 
ITF uses community-led participatory monitoring, GIS technology and periodic independent assessment to verify tree survival and project outcomes. Our most recent independent end-of-project assessment at Mount Elgon in Uganda was conducted in May 2026 and recorded a 92% survival rate. Monitoring information is available for all active projects.

Business partnerships

There are several ways your business can support ITF, whether you want to fund tree planting, engage your employees or build a wider partnership.
Our Company Forest partnerships start from £1,000 per year, with every donation funding tree planting and long-term restoration. For smaller commitments, you can become a Business Supporter or make a one-off donation.
If you want to get your team directly involved, our Corporate Tree Planting Days offer hands-on volunteering opportunities in the UK. We can also develop bespoke partnerships for businesses looking to make a larger or more tailored impact.
Yes. Corporate tree planting days are a great way to foster environmental commitment with your whole staff. We offer three levels of tree planting events to suit your company, from a morning of local tree planting to multi-country programmes for international teams.
Company Forests start from £1,000 per year. This investment funds 500 trees through an Africa Company Forest or 200 trees through a UK Company Forest, depending on where you choose to support tree planting.
Beyond the ecological impact, a Company Forest gives your organisation a verifiable, story-rich ESG commitment. You’ll receive photographs, community stories and impact data that you can use across your annual report, social media, internal communications and customer-facing channels. Depending on your tier, you can also offer your team a planting day experience.
Our Company Forest partnerships start from £1,000 per year. This investment funds 500 trees through an Africa Company Forest or 200 trees through a UK Company Forest, depending on where you choose to support tree planting.
There is no maximum number of trees. But large-scale tree planting projects take time to plan and implement. If you want to plant more than 20,000 trees you can get in touch with our team about a Bespoke Company Forest and we’ll explore how we can realise your tree planting ambitions.
Yes. We’ll share photos, stories and reports from the projects you support, giving you credible content to communicate your impact to employees, customers and other stakeholders.
To keep our tree planting cost-effective and maximise the funding going directly to restoration, we don’t photograph individual trees within a Company Forest. If individual tree photography or more tailored reporting is important to your business, talk to our team about a Bespoke Company Forest.
For our Africa, UK and Mixed Company Forests, we direct your funding across selected ITF projects where it can deliver the greatest long-term impact for people and nature.
With a Bespoke Company Forest, you can discuss geographic preferences with our partnerships team. We’ll talk you through our active or future projects and help identify locations that align with your business and the impact you want to achieve.
Yes. One-for-one giving is a simple and effective way to connect your sales with positive environmental impact.
There are fundraising regulations that apply to this type of partnership, so please speak to our team before launching your campaign. We can help you set it up correctly and provide clear messaging to communicate your impact to customers.
Team planting days aren’t included as standard with a Company Forest, but there are plenty of opportunities to get your team involved.
You can book places at one of our Corporate Tree Planting Days in the UK or, for larger commitments, talk to us about creating a bespoke event for your business.

Tree planting

Tree planting can turn your sustainability commitments into measurable action. Done well, it can help tackle climate change, restore biodiversity and degraded landscapes and support communities that depend on healthy ecosystems.
By partnering with International Tree Foundation, your business supports locally led projects designed for long-term impact, not simply the number of trees planted. We work with communities to plant the right trees in the right places and monitor their survival, giving you credible impact you can report and communicate to your stakeholders.
Community-led tree planting means local people are involved in deciding where and what to plant, and in growing, planting and caring for the trees.
This local ownership ensures trees survive and restoration lasts. For your business, it means your investment goes beyond planting trees: it supports long-term restoration, strengthens local livelihoods and creates lasting impact.
As little as £2 can plant a native tree in your Company Forest and ensure it thrives for generations to come.
At ITF, we plant native and naturalised species, with a focus on endangered or threatened tree species. Our holistic approach means that the trees we plant are chosen for their benefit to people and planet, whether the aromatic fruit of the mango tree or the nitrogen-fixing properties of a silky oak.
Trees grow at different rates depending on their location and species. An avocado tree in Kenya can produce fruit in as little as 3 years, while an oak tree in England can take 40 years to produce its first acorn. At ITF, we plant native and naturalised species in places where they make the fastest, most lasting impact for the people who plant them and for the planet.
At ITF, we ensure an 80% or higher survival rate. We have strict monitoring and evaluation protocols to ensure our high survival rates and have rigorous safeguards that mean we can take proactive action in cases of drought or extreme weather.
Research shows that many tree planting schemes don't look after trees for the long term. A dead tree captures no carbon, provides no food and sustains no community. 
ITF has spent more than a century learning that the planting day is the beginning, not the end. After every tree we plant, our teams monitor, maintain and protect it for years, tracking survival using field data and GIS technology. So, with ITF you’re not investing in planting for a day; you’re investing in trees that grow for generations to come.

Carbon

Yes, trees absorb and store carbon as they grow, so restoring forests is an important contribution to tackling climate change. However, ITF’s tree planting is not sold as carbon offsetting and we do not issue carbon credits.
Instead, partnering with ITF enables your business to invest in high-quality, long-term restoration alongside efforts to reduce your own emissions. Your support delivers wider benefits too, including restoring biodiversity, protecting landscapes and supporting local communities.
The focus on using a market mechanism means that corners will often be cut to reach a lower price. That could mean that land rights aren’t respected, appropriate tree species aren’t considered or that wider benefits are stripped back to a bare minimum. It’s a complex system and often more than 50% of the price of the credit goes to middlemen rather than to where the money matters most.
At ITF, we understand that our relationship with trees and nature is not a transactional one and that turning nature into a tradeable commodity doesn’t bode well.
ITF is a registered charity. We have no shareholders, no profit margin, no investment return extracted from your donation. That means every donation is invested directly into our work to create maximum impact for people and planet.
Buying carbon credits can encourage a race to the bottom in ways that are deeply unhelpful. Within tree-growing, it’s far cheaper to plant a fast-growing non-native species in a plantation lacking in biodiversity than to work with communities to recover ancient rainforest. Incentives to go for the cheapest option can create tree planting projects that actively damage ecosystems.
At ITF, we believe that we need to decarbonise, particularly for those that are the largest emitters. But we advocate the use of strategic climate funds. An individual, family or company should make an appropriate investment in holistic climate solutions rather than buying the cheapest possible credit. Those who support ITF’s work are doing just that.

Why businesses choose ITF

“Partnering with the ITF lets us turn our values into action, every tree planted is a small step toward a healthier planet, and that's something Strand Europe Ltd is proud to support.”

Strand Europe

“Thank you for making it so easy for us and our customers to be part of something meaningful. Looking forward to continuing this partnership!”

Get Laid Beds

“We believe nature is worth investing in. We're proud to support projects that help people, wildlife, and the planet thrive together. ”

Famille

Start your impact today

We understand that to make a real impact, you need to go beyond just putting a tree in the ground. When done properly, tree planting can transform threatened landscapes and support communities and livelihoods. The trees we plant provide food and income for today and protect nature for tomorrow.

→ Explore Company Forests

→ Explore Corporate Tree Planting Days

→ Become a Business Supporter