Afforestation with ForTomorrow

How does carbon offsetting through afforestation work in Germany?

We are ForTomorrow,a non-profit climate protection organization based in Berlin. Our goal is to achieve the greatest possible impact for your CO2 offsets. When selecting our reforestation areas, we look for FSC, Naturland or PEFC certification. It is also important to us that the areas are accessible to the public. In addition, each afforestation event is accompanied by experts.

Picture of the ForTomorrow team standing in front of a afforestation area.
With ForTomorrow you can plant climate resilient mixed forests in Germany.

How does carbon offsetting by planting trees works?

Trees absorb CO2 from the air. By planting more trees, we capture more CO2. Mixed forests are the most effective solution for storing CO2 in the long term. They promote biodiversity in the region and are climate resilient, providing good protection against droughts, storms and diseases.

Our community has already funded 42,108 trees. In 2021 and 2023, we planted 22,000 trees in Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. In Saxony we worked together with the German Forest Protection Association and reforested a former mining site. We focus on planting mixed forests in Germany since the Federal Forest Act of 1975 provides strong legal protection. In addition, it allows us to offset CO2 in Europe — where our CO2 emissions are generated.

We are planning our next big planting event in the autumn of 2023 at the latest.

What are the benefits of afforestation in Germany?

The importance of additionality

Additionality ensures that a carbon offset actually serves climate protection. Only offsetting projects that are directly funded by your donations and complement existing climate protection are working. Example: If a hydropower plant is already self-financing, but still sells climate protection certificates that you can use to offset the carbon emissions, then this is not an additional benefit for climate protection. The power plant would run even without your donation. So it’s not extracting additional CO2 from the air.

To achieve maximum impact, we only do afforestation. This means that on the areas where we plant trees, completely new mixed forests are created. If it weren’t for your support, these new forests would never have grown.

Growing security

For a positive climate impact, trees need to be able to grow long term.. Fresh after reforestation, the tree absorbs very little CO2. The bigger it gets, the more CO2 it takes out of the air. If you plant a tree and it falls victim to a forest fire after a few years it is cleared due to political decisions, the CO2 previously absorbed goes back into the air. That’s why we practice reforestation in Germany.

Plant mixed forests with us

Where have you already planted new forests?

As mentioned, all our climate forests grow in Germany:

Location Date Trees Species
Niederrossau, Mittelsachsen 2024-03-23 6 890 Pedunculate oak, hornbeam, small-leaved linden and others
Drelsdorf, Nordfriesland 2024-01-31 45 000 Downy birch, white elm, sessile oak, alder
Drelsdorf, Nordfriesland 2023-01-25 18 400 Downy birch, sessile oak, alder, white elm
Peres, Leipzig 2021-03-26 4 000 Crab apple, Austrian pine, wild pear, rowan

The map below shows our currently growing climate forests, their area sizes and estimated CO2 storage.

If you want to view our afforestation maps, we need your consent to load them from Hula Earth. For more information about Hula Earth, please take a look at our privacy policy and Hula Earth’s.

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Would you like to learn more about our reforestation efforts in Germany? Find more information here:

  • Carbon calculation method: We use the latest scientific standards and regularly review our methods. Find out why we plant 5 trees to sequester one ton of CO2.
  • Planting code: In the Planting Code, you can view the criteria we use to plant mixed forests in Germany with our reforestation partners.
  • Blog article about afforestation: For more detailed information about our reforestation efforts in Germany.

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Plant mixed forests in Germany