Samsung Partners With Veritree For Blockchain-Based Greening In Madagascar

It is believed that reforestation of mangrove trees will absorb more CO2. (photo credit: pixabay)

JAKARTA - Samsung Electronics America, on Monday, December 3, announced at the CES Tech Conference in Las Vegas its partnership with Veritree, a blockchain-based climate solutions platform, to plant 2 million mangrove trees in Madagascar over the next three months. Veritree uses blockchain technology to manage the reforestation process and verify every tree planted.

The tree planting initiative is part of Samsung's nature-based action plan for environmental sustainability. In particular to capture and absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The goal is to restore about 200 hectares of land and absorb about 1 billion pounds of CO2 over a 25 year period.

Veritree, developed by Tentree, a sustainable clothing company that plants 10 trees for every item of clothing sold, will handle the logistics.

Built as an accounting system, Veritree seeks to provide greater transparency of the entire process from field-level data collection, site planning, tree inventory and impact monitoring.

Tree growers use their cell phones to track trees that sponsors have paid to plant, essentially creating a digital map of the corresponding digital tree.

Quoted by Cointelegraph, Samsung's Head of Corporate Sustainability Programme, Mark Newton, said that investing in innovative technologies and so-called "nature-based solutions" is critical to combating climate change.

According to Samsung, mangroves are some of the most effective nature-based carbon sinks in the world. Mangrove roots, which are usually covered with water, capture and store CO2 in the soil. Samsung plans to work with local community members in the Mahajanga region of Madagascar, a region facing major deforestation, to reach its target of 2 million trees by the end of the first quarter.

The tree planting initiative is part of Samsung's growing efforts around sustainability technology. In addition to using renewable energy in the United States, the company recently launched a new line of smart TVs with an integrated NFT platform.