Protecting and reviving our forests is no longer a luxury, it’s an imperative. With half of global GDP at risk from nature loss, and climate change looming, businesses have a unique opportunity to lead the charge in a transformative movement: forest restoration at scale.

The Trillion Trees: Restoration at Scale Challenge, spearheaded by UpLink and 1t.org, sought out groundbreaking solutions to this critical challenge. From 160 submissions worldwide, 12 Top Innovators emerged, each with the potential to revolutionize forest restoration and unlock its immense benefits for both the planet and our economies.

Here are the 12 game changers:

• Blue Forest: Guardians of the mangroves, Blue Forest aims to plant 500 million mangrove trees by 2030, sucking 2 million tons of CO2 from the air annually. They prioritize local communities, ensuring 60% of their net income flows directly to them.
• Funga: Reconnecting forests with their forgotten partners – fungi. Funga reintroduces native fungal communities, boosting tree growth, carbon capture, and timber supply, all while safeguarding fungal biodiversity and supporting climate action.
• Groasis B.V.: Turning barren landscapes into thriving ecosystems with their patented plant cocoon technology. Their Waterboxx and Growboxx solutions slash water usage by 90%, boast a 90% survival rate, and are 90% cheaper than traditional methods, making large-scale reforestation a reality.
• Grow-Trees: Planting trees, fostering communities, and creating jobs. Grow-Trees empowers individuals and companies to plant trees in India and beyond, contributing to over 18 million trees planted across 23 states and 2 countries. They’ve also generated 1.5 million workdays for local communities.
• MORFO: Beyond just planting trees, MORFO restores entire ecosystems. Using drones for seed dispersal and data collection, their AI-powered approach accelerates reforestation at an unprecedented pace, up to 100 times faster than traditional methods.
• Open Forest Protocol: Building trust and transparency in the carbon credit market. Open Forest Protocol provides robust infrastructure and tools for nature-based projects to generate high-quality carbon credits. Verified by experts and stored on a blockchain, their system fosters investor confidence and drives investment in nature-based solutions.
• SankalpTaru Foundation: India’s green warriors, SankalpTaru has planted over 5 million trees across 27 states, promoting environmental sustainability and socio-economic development. Their IT-enabled approach ensures efficiency and impact.
• Terraformation: Restoring forests, capturing carbon, and building thriving communities. Terraformation’s Seed to Carbon Forest Accelerator bridges the funding gap for early-stage restoration projects, generating verified carbon credits and sustainable revenue streams for local economies.
• Terrasos: Pioneering habitat banking, a disruptive offset mechanism that incentivizes landowners to conserve land and protect biodiversity. Terrasos’ innovative approach delivers quantifiable gains for conservation while providing attractive investment opportunities.
• Treeapp: Modernizing reforestation with a user-friendly mobile app. Treeapp empowers individuals and businesses to plant trees globally, connecting them with projects through a gamified experience. Over 100,000 users have already joined the movement, planting trees while watching ads from sustainable companies.
• Viridis Terra International: Weaving technology and nature into a tapestry of restoration. Viridis Terra’s IFLR® approach combines biotechnologies with a digital platform, creating new livelihood opportunities for local communities and restoring degraded landscapes at scale.
• Wilder Climate Solutions: Building resilience through nature-based solutions. Wilder Climate Solutions has developed Squirrel, a mobile app that connects seed collectors and growers, building capacity and scaling up seed collection to support large-scale restoration efforts.

These 12 innovators are just the tip of the iceberg. With their ingenuity and dedication, we can unlock the immense potential of forest restoration to heal our planet, boost our economies, and build a brighter future for all.

Let’s join the movement and support these game changers as they rewrite the story of our forests.