Brands & Branding Carbon Offset Report

Pick n Pay, one of the sponsors of Brands & Branding for Good Conference, the first local branding conference to explore the relationship between the trend towards sustainability and the brand, put its once again sponsored a carbon offset for this conference joining forces with Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA). Instead of purchasing gifts for the delegate packs, the organisers purchased 210 trees, one for each delegate who attended the conference.

Jeunesse Park, founder, fund raiser and marketer for FTFA, International Advisory Board member for OgilvyEarth, Director of Global Carbon Exchange and one of the speakers at the conference, said, “There are great opportunities for brands, especially with climate change, to educate and raise awareness through branding initiatives. FTFA has assisted many companies that want to align their brand and Corporate Social Investment with this shift in consumer thinking towards sustainability and it has really worked for them.

This initiative of Pick n Pay is a case in point. Not only does it clearly demonstrate in a very tangible manner the chain’s commitment to sustainability, it makes the point in a way that benefits people less fortunate than those attending the conference,” Park said.

The distribution of the 210 trees took place on the 1st December 2009, in celebration of World Aids Day. This report details the evaluations of these trees that took place over the past six months.

FTFA would like to take this opportunity to thank Brands & Branding for Good and Pick n Pay for their generous contribution to the Esselen Park. Of the 210 trees planted, 94% are being well looked after and are surviving well.

Started in 1990, FTFA is a South African social enterprise that realises sustainable development through greening, climate change action, sustainable natural resource management and permaculture food security programmes. FTFA has distributed over 3.6 million trees, facilitated the creation of over 2 500 organic food gardens for the poorest in South Africa and launched the first carbon calculator and the Carbon Standard (now the Carbon Protocol) in this country FTFA’s objectives are:…………………

• to contribute to greening, climate change action, sustainable natural resource management and food security;
• to create awareness of the benefits of environmental improvement activities amongst all communities of southern Africa;
• to contribute to poverty alleviation, sustainable development, enhanced environments, capacity building and skills development

Working in partnership, and with the support, endorsement and cooperation of government, the private and public sectors, aid agencies, organisations, media and individuals to achieve these aims, FTFA implements four programmes, namely: Trees for All and Trees for Homes (both registered as carbon offset programmes under the Carbon Protocol of South Africa), Urban Greening and Food Gardening, and EduPlant, each with various projects.

These programmes and projects lead to healthier lives for impoverished communities, more sustainable green environments and increased awareness of our impact on the planet and the need to address this. For a complete list of FTFA’s history, development partners, board members, patrons, employees, projects, products, media, financial statements and more, please refer to the award winning website: www.trees.co.za.

TREES FOR HOMES
This is a successful and innovative public greening initiative that contributes nationally in a visible way to more sustainable development and enhanced environments. It is the only programme of its kind in South Africa and has been commended as innovative and effective by government, the private sector, communities and the media.

South Africa’s Settlement Policies have done little to encourage consideration of environmentally sound practices. Many settlements are still smoggy, barren wastelands that detract from the quality of life.

Residents are tied to a future of high energy consumption with associated local air quality problems and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Trees for Homes started in 2000 to address these issues and contribute to the development of sustainable settlements by giving low-income communities trees to plant at their homes, as well as providing training, information and education, some employment and climate change and environmental awareness.

Trees for Homes enhances the participation of low-income communities in local level decision-making and in improving environmental management capacity by forging new partnerships between provincial and municipal representatives, and these communities.
The Trees for Homes programme is run by FTFA, with input from many funders. The programme was awarded a Mail & Guardian Investing in the Future Award and won the Institute of Housing Gauteng and National Award. It has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme and contributes to their Billion Tree Project.

This project aimed to deliver 210 trees to low cost housing units in Esselyn Park, Tembisa. These trees will result in 78.9 tons of carbon dioxide being sequestrated over the next 15 years. This also contributed to urban greening. The average low cost house is sited on 250m2. One hectare is equal to 10 000m2. There are therefore 40 houses per hectare with one tree per household. 210 households x 250m2 = 52 500m22. It can therefore be said that through this project 5,25 hectares of urban forest has been planted. The delivery of trees and increased environmental awareness for beneficiaries is the primary output of the project.

TREES EVALUATIONS
When trees are planted through the Trees for Homes programme three tree evaluations are scheduled in order to ensure the survival of the trees. The first assessment takes place one week after the distribution of the trees, the second three months after the distribution and the third six months after the distribution. CBEs used forms in order to track the survival rate.

- FIRST EVALUATIONS
On the 10th December 2009, the first tree evaluation was conducted in Esselyn Park, Tembisa ward 14. The purpose of evaluating the 210 fruit trees was to establish the survival rate of these trees and the awareness of residents. This evaluation was conducted subsequent to the tree distribution event which took place on the 01st December 2009 in Celebration of World Aids Day.

The results of the evaluation were gathered by means of random assessments, door-to-door visits by the CBE’s, one- on-one interviews with homeowners. It was established that the 210 fruit trees were surviving and that information was recorded on the forms by the Community Based Educators. Therefore a 100% calculation was recorded to reflect the survival rate of the trees.

The assessment indicated that the homeowners were greatly appreciative of the trees. The trees were planted as advised; that is without the plastic bags, trees planted at least five meters away from the house, mulched and enough soil around the trees to conserve water. There were also a few homes that have developed food gardens and planted grass. There is much space for the development of more food gardens in this area.

When the homeowners were interviewed one got a sense of pride and joy attributable to the donation of the 210 fruit trees. There was a high level of awareness and education in community and the residents remembered that the trees were a result of Brands and Branding and Pick ‘n Pay’s generous donation. Furthermore, Esselyn Park homeowners responded positively when asked the following questions:

• How often do you water the tree?
• Why is your tree in a good or bad condition?
• Did you have enough information on how to take care of this type of tree?
• How often did the CBEs visit your household?
• Did they give you enough information on how to plant and care for your tree?
• Do you have enough time to look after the tree?
• Do you think weather conditions played any role in the current condition of the tree?
• Do you know who sponsored you tree?
• What impact has the tree had on your life?

In summation the answers to the above question indicated a profound understanding and knowledge that will assist in the sustainability of the initiative.

The following comments are from some of the homewonerwere interviewed:

“The 210 fruit trees that were distributed to us is greatly appreciated but not adequate as the community need more,” said Elish Ntuli of house 596. This statement was supported by others, including Solly Masha of house 575, who stated that there is a need for other homeowners to have trees distributed to them as well.…………

- SECOND EVALUATIONS
The second evaluation took place on the 10th March 2010. During this process, the level of enthusiasm and gratitude towards the sponsors was still very high and the community members expressed their sincere appreciation to the sponsors for the generous donation of trees. This was reflected in the 205 trees found still surviving and being well looked after during this time.

“We will also love to have shade trees” said Solly Ntuli. Many of the remarks from the community indicated a profound appeal to have more trees in Esselyn Park. “Since I recieved the herbs they have motivated me to develop a food garden soon,” concluded Shadrack Beje of house 52/2448.

- THIRD EVALUATIONS
The third and final evaluation took place on the 9th June 2010. During this assessment it was established that 94% of trees are surviving and being well looked after. The plum trees are doing very well in the area and the homeowners are very happy with the trees. Many of the trees had not been mulched and the homeowners were encouraged to do so, especially considering that it was winter and that the mulch would aid with insulation of the soil and water retention.

198 trees were in good condition in spite of the extreme weather conditions experienced in the area. The majority of the homeowners remembered that the trees had been sponsored by is Pick n Pay. “The residents still need more trees to be planted in this area,” said one of the CBE’s, Miss Yalezwa Ngidi.

|The following CBE’s remained employed for the duration of the project:

CONCLUSION
The project was a successfully implemented and the Esselen Park community is grateful for the generous donation from the sponsor. There is huge demand for the trees as the area was recently developed and only 210 fruit trees were distributed.

The community must be educated more on the need for food gardens in their homes. It can be seen there is enough space to develop food gardens within the properties.

FTFA and this community thank Brands and Branding for Good together with Pick ‘n Pay for their support and donation of the 210 fruit trees distributed to the community of Esselen Park, Tembisa Ward 14 towards a lower carbon, more sustainable and healthier future.