Not 100% of Ecosia’s profits are used to finance reforestation projects.

At the time of the writing of this review, Ecosia was able to finance the planting of more
than 129 million trees. These funds were taken from their advertisement revenue which was
generated from selling ad space in their search engine causing advertised search results to
show at the top of the page rather than the organic search results.

In the upper right corner of the search page results, there is an indicator that
supposedly tells the number of trees you have planted by using Ecosia. The said number
indicates the number of searches you have made that would be directed to tree planting
projects because it is notable that not every search you have done would directly or indirectly
support the organization. This feature will motivate Ecosia users to use the search engine more,
because internet users feel better with the idea of using a product of a company helping
mitigate the effects of climate change by planting trees (Palos-Sanchez, Pedro & Saura, José,
2018.)

Although the main initiative of Ecosia is to use the potential of internet searches to
generate funds for reforestation projects, not all of the profits are used for this purpose. This is
to be expected as they still need to finance their operations and to pay salaries and tax
responsibilities. Recently, Ecosia has also reported to have invested for green initiatives such as
solar power plants and regenerative agriculture. Roughly 80% of their surplus are used to
finance tree-planting projects.

Financial reports are self-published, monthly, by Ecosia online to supposedly assure

users the appropriate profit maximization and that no lavish corporate parties are benefitting
from it. Ecosia has been a certified B-corporation since 2014. These are given to businesses
that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public
transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose so it is safe to say that the
financial reports they issue are correct.
 For a reforestation project to be successful, it
must also provide socioeconomic advantages to a locality, aside from the benefits it brings in the
aspect of environmental conservation.

Ecosia doesn’t have a team of their own who does the planting. They partner with
organization who would do the on-the-ground work at areas where biodiversity is at risk and
where the local community can participate and benefit from the project because they aim for a
sound approach in the socioeconomic context to bring trees back. This strategy will reap better
results because if people are aware that they would be benefitting from it like dependable
source of income, harvests, provide shades, restore landscapes, and increase wildlife habitat,
they would also be involved in ensuring that these trees survive. Ecosia has reported that these
locals get to keep whatever benefits or profits they get from the trees planted.

The criteria and standards to be met by their partner organizations’ projects are
developed from a portfolio of reforestation projects, which is consistent in context but can be
aligned with the setups and projects according to the biodiversity status of the chosen locality.
The team that develops these portfolios are headed by Pieter van Midwoud, and to our
research, has the expertise and the background that qualifies him for the role with his scientific
background in landscape restoration.

Aside from financials, Ecosia also provide reports on their reforestation projects through
their page wherein you can see the list of countries alongside the partner organizations they are
currently working with, and the amount they have put in there. The actualized reforestation
projects can also be seen in their YouTube channel where they upload contents about the
visitations in the areas they have already successfully grown trees. Showing that their actions
and impacts are visible not only increases the trust users have on them but may also be an
effective ecological marketing strategy (Palos-Sanchez, Pedro & Saura, José, 2018).
REFERENCES

CEO interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sJA-gHFCVo

Communication officer interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQcQDefTZgs

BCORP https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corps

Palos-Sanchez, Pedro & Saura, José. (2018). The Effect of Internet Searches on Afforestation: The Case of
a Green Search Engine. Forests. 9. 51. 10.3390/f9020051.

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