Etica Funds has always shown strong commitment and priority toward the environment—not only as a responsible investor, but also in regard to the direct impacts of our business activities (see the section Our Impact).
As highlighted in our report, we consistently prioritize the use of resources from renewable (or certified) sources and actively promote sustainable mobility. However, we want to take it a step further by starting a reforestation initiative through the planting of trees in Italy and abroad.
The Trees of Etica Funds
Treedom
Etica Funds’s first project in this area was carried out in collaboration with Treedom, the only web platform in the world that allows you to plant a tree remotely and follow its growth online.
The trees of Etica Funds are photographed and geo-referenced, ensuring the uniqueness of each one, their actual planting, and their growth over time.
This is made possible through an agreement with Treedom, a company that has developed a methodology both for offsetting emissions and for monitoring subsequent activities—allowing people to genuinely follow the life of Etica Sgr’s trees.
On February 14, 2020, the first tree of a second green area was planted at Parco Nord Milano—a symbolic gesture marking the beginning of a new urban forest. The forest was completed in November 2020, supporting the vision of a greener Milan.
- 415 trees planted
- 900 m² of reforested area
- 263,000 kg of CO₂ absorbed at full plant maturity
263,000 kg of CO₂ is equivalent to the emissions of a car driving around the Earth more than 30 times, about 450,000 half-liter plastic bottles, or 2,300 refrigerators running for a year.
The impact is not only environmental. It’s an investment in citizens’ health, in property value, in healthcare savings, in urban resilience to extreme weather events, in energy savings, and in improved water drainage. It’s an action aimed at enhancing land quality and building resilience to climate change—an issue we care deeply about.
At the end of 2021, Etica decided to support a reforestation project involving the planting and maintenance of 150 new native trees, such as beech and Mediterranean scrub, to restore areas affected by wildfires in the summer of 2021 at the Madonie Park, in the province of Palermo. The initiative aims to rebuild the natural capital of this protected area, which is moving towards PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) forest certification.
Thanks to the improved air quality resulting from the trees’ intrinsic ability to absorb fine dust particles, benefits are expected in terms of reduced healthcare costs related to cardiovascular diseases.
In April 2024, Etica Sgr took part in the planting of 300 new plants, including trees and shrubs, in the Campo dei Fiori Regional Park, a protected natural area in the Province of Varese.
This area was severely affected by a devastating wildfire in 2017 and by Storm Alex in 2020, which brought winds exceeding 110 km/h and caused the destruction of entire forest sections.
The reforestation project serves as a true experimental site, with the goal of restoring biodiversity, preserving the park’s variety of tree species, and breathing new life into this precious green lung.
