The following are two companies that capitalize on things we do every day to help the environment globally. Learn how replacing your primary search engine and updating your new tabs can support planting and conserving trees and wildlife around the world.

Ecosia

Ecosia, in simple terms, is a search engine. It is a not-for-profit business that uses the revenue from search ads to plant trees where they are most needed around the world. They generate public finance reports straight to their site to stay transparent. They collaborate with different types of projects and have contributed to over 9,000 planting sites around the world. They do not support destructive monoculture but instead work directly with local experts to plant diverse, native species that support the local community and wildlife. They also have a great privacy policy that stops third-party companies from using your data for the ads. On top of their projects, they are a Certified B Corporation and are powered by 200% renewable energy (their solar panels create 2x the energy needed to power all searches with renewables).

Ecosia can be downloaded as an extension and app on laptops, and/or as an app on smartphones. This has completely replaced my use of safari on my phone and Google on my laptop. I take pride in knowing that I have replaced my support of huge corporations who aren’t helping the environment with a company that is actively helping small communities and the environment globally. I learned about Ecosia a few years ago and have been a happy user on all my devices ever since.

Ecosia Homepage - Taken while writing this blogpost - Number goes up every 1.3 seconds

Pros of Planting Trees

Supports local economies by creating jobs and supporting farmers
Supports local wildlife, including animals and plants
Offsets environmental impacts by absorbing carbon and harmful gases

Join Ecosia

Opentabs

Opentabs is a non-profit that replaces your new tab homepage through an extension download. It uses a small ad in the corner of the page to generate revenue which is then used to conserve trees around the world. They generate public finance reports straight to their site to stay transparent. They partner with Rainforest Trust to protect our rainforests by saving 1 tree for every 5 tabs users open. You can also customize the ads to upgrade your impact by showing two or three ads in the corner which generates more revenue and therefor conserves more trees. The homepage also has a search bar that can be customized to your preferred search engine, which includes Ecosia so you can effectively use both of these at the same time!

You can easily download the extension on any and all internet apps you prefer using the button below. I learned about Opentabs recently on TikTok and have been using it ever since.

Opentabs Homepage - Taken at time of writing this post - 3 ad option to upgrade impact

Pros of Conserving Trees

“Forest conservation needs 30x less land to have the same climate mitigation outcome than planting trees.” -GRISCOM ET AL., 2017
“Forest protection efforts help protect the natural habitat of thousands of species and local communities that depend on natural resources.” -TANGLEY, 2020
“Forest conservation typically costs half as much as forest restoration efforts” -MONTAIGNE, 2019

Join Opentabs

Summary

These are the simplest things I use to support the environment. After the initial downloads, there is no extra work required. Opening tabs and searching are things we do every day, multiple times a day. Turning these daily acts into forest-saving activities is a huge win! I recommend these to all my friends and anyone who is interested in helping great causes globally. This post does not contain any paid advertisements, I just love and believe in these services wholeheartedly.

Thanks for reading! Stay sunny. ☀️