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It cannot be denied that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it a lot of pain and suffering. However, there have also been glimpses of another possible world. One with reduced pollution of the air and sea, that was seen during periods of lockdown, and another with greater co-operation between nations and communities working together to find solutions to the problems we are facing.
The improvements we saw to the climate, however, were short-lived. As soon as the world was out of lockdown CO2 emissions and pollution were sky high again. This shows that we cannot wait to tackle climate change.
In this interview, with Ricardo Porteus, co-founder of One Tribe, we hear about the project launched with the aim of protecting the climate and one billion trees.
Welcome, Ricardo.
Tell us a little about the One Tribe Campaign and your mission.
One Tribe was created by myself and Co-Founder Tom, we have been working in technology and rainforest conservation individually over the past twenty years. A colliding of ideas and a lifetime commitment to both these industries helped us create the concept for the platform. We have a simple yet highly ambitious mission. We want to engage 100,000 global businesses and their millions of customers to save billions of trees in the rainforests over the coming years. Working together as one tribe in unified climate action.
Talk to us about the technology of One Tribe and its sustainability within your climate policies?
We have worked intensively in the B2B space and consumer marketing for many years so we have a deep level of insight into what works and how we can engage businesses to take action. The core part of our technology is an API system that can connect eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce within minutes. When customers purchase from our client’s stores, it triggers our API which in turn collects micro-donations and we forward those automatically to verified conservation charities. We provide our clients with a real-time climate action page, showcasing their Trees, Meters, Acres saved, and CO2 stored. The customer knows their purchase has now saved 100 trees which helps fight the climate crisis. This increases customer satisfaction and loyalty and allows the brand to participate in a Climate Positive solution.
What are the short term and longer-term targets you are working towards?
In 2021 our focus is to drive to 1000 clients globally, this will enable millions of trees to be protected annually. As we perfect the offering and our partnerships mature, we will push to 10,000 clients. Our goal is the be the number one climate action solution for the eCommerce industry. Our toolset allows a very in-depth potential for clients to launch climate action campaigns, connect to United Nations Sustainability Goals and participate in the ‘Decade of Climate Action’ set by the UNFCCC.
Such a big mission needs many collaborators. Tell us about some of the partners you are working with.
Partnerships on a global scale are helping us deliver our mission. By working directly with the Shopify Partnership Program, we can access millions of eCommerce store owners and brands. We work with Rainforest conservation organisations such as the Rainforest Trust in the US, CEDIA in Peru, they are helping us deploy funds exactly where it is needed. We are very fortunate to have some incredible private sector businesses working with us, such as KoiFootwear which is a Vegan Footwear brand launched by the BooHoo Group founders, Ushuaia Ibiza the largest Outdoor Club in Europe, SwissMe Australias largest MultiVitamin brand and many more incredible clients.
Your relationship with UNFCCC seems a healthy collaboration – what brought you to work with the team there?
We have been fortunate to have access to some amazing mentors, collaborators and conservationist within our personal networks, who help steer us in the right direction and have introduced us to key players within the United Nations. Our mission has always been to make objectives of the Paris Agreement accessible to SME’s. The private sector has to step up and match efforts that Governments are working towards. Climate Change is caused by the destruction of our planet, as consumers, our demand for products creates the need for a supply by the private sector which in turn causes the destruction and pollution of our natural world. We use the UNFCCC initiatives as our guiding light, the UN Sustainability Goals as our targets to align clients to. Our conversations with several team members at the UNFCCC have always been very productive and they have guided us and introduced us to great partners.
How will One Tribe enable customers to take climate action?
For the end-user customer, we turn their purchasing decision into positive environmental action. A participating store can set its climate action campaign according to their average order value. For example, a product priced £10 may save 10 Trees, or higher value 1000 Trees, these trees store and sequester carbon from our atmosphere, they are home to indigenous tribal families and endangered animal species. This customer purchase now has an incredibly positive impact at no extra cost to them. The micro-donation is paid by the brand as an incentive for the customers to purchase from them and remain loyal to their brand. For the brands, through one integration we connect them to climate action projects; track their impact; provide all the content they need to update their site, incentivise customer purchases and promote their campaigns through marketing and social media channels.
The world of Eco focused brands is exploding, eco-conscious customers are willing to pay more and remain loyal to brands that are working on their sustainability journey, brands who have fixed their supply chain and have values that are in alignment with the global climate action movement, One Tribe connects the dots and sits firmly in the middle of this.
Where can people find out more about the campaign?
Tell us about your end goals and what is in store for 2021?
Help businesses grow more sustainably, help drive Eco-conscious customers to Eco-conscious brands, and really educate, support, and firmly plant ourselves in the epicentre of climate action for eCommerce.
You may also like: 5 Ways Your Business Can Help Save The Environment
Image source: Unsplash.com
