Philips Monitors has planted a tree for every green monitor sold since 2020. The Philips Monitors Forest now holds over 60,000 trees in Tanzania, features in Philips press releases and sustainability reports, and gives every customer who buys a qualifying monitor a Gift Story with their name on a tree. That mechanic, trees per product sold, turns commercial volume into environmental impact, and environmental impact into a brand story.
The trees-per-product-sold model is one of the most commercially powerful mechanics in corporate sustainability, because it scales automatically. Every product sold adds to the forest. As the product grows in the market, the forest grows. As the forest grows, the story grows. [1]
This guide covers how the trees-per-product-sold model works, which companies use it, and how to structure a programme for your own products.
Key Takeaways
- Trees per product sold plants a verified tree in Tanzania for every unit sold, creating an environmental contribution that scales automatically with commercial volume.
- Philips Monitors has planted over 60,000 trees through their programme since 2020. Each qualifying monitor triggers a tree and a personalised Gift Story for the customer.
- The model works for physical products, software licences, subscriptions, and service contracts: any commercial unit that can trigger a defined tree count.
- Companies using this model get a differentiating sustainability story at product level, customer engagement through Gift Stories, and ESG reporting data from ForestNation Forest Profiles.
- Start a trees-per-product-sold programme at forestnation.com/companies.
How Does the Trees Per Product Sold Model Work?
The mechanism is straightforward. Any company selling physical products, software, or services can define a product or product range. You define a tree count per unit sold: one tree per unit, five trees per unit, ten trees per premium tier. ForestNation plants the trees in verified Tanzania sites as each batch is ordered, updates your Forest Profile, and provides the impact data.
For customer-facing programmes, each customer who buys the qualifying product can receive a personalised digital Gift Story: their name, the product, the Tanzania forest, and impact updates as their tree grows. Philips Monitors used this to give every green monitor customer a named tree in the Philips Monitors Forest. The product becomes the starting point of an ongoing relationship between the customer and a specific tree in Tanzania.
For B2B programmes, the tree planting can be communicated through packaging QR codes that link to a joint Forest Profile, impact certificates included with product documentation, or WePlant Badge placement on product pages and marketing materials. Every business customer who buys the product becomes part of the forest story without needing a separate communication workflow.
Which Companies Plant Trees for Every Product Sold?
Several companies running ForestNation programmes use the trees-per-product model:
Philips Monitors: A tree planted for every green monitor sold since 2020. The Philips Monitors Forest holds over 60,000 trees. Customer Gift Stories connect each purchase to a named tree. The programme features in Philips sustainability reports and press releases. Working with distributor Galtec, Gift Stories are provided for corporate customers across the Philips distribution network. Read the Philips Monitors case study.
Solution Group: 100 trees planted for every €5,000 of client spend on promotional products. A revenue-linked variant of the product-sold model. Over 134,000 trees growing in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. Clients including L’Oréal Italia, LVMH, and Henkel cite the programme in their own sustainability communications. Read the Solution Group case study.
Image Source: One tree per order placed, including orders for specific products in client campaigns. Named forests created for Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz. A product-order-linked model that creates client-specific forests tied to commercial activity. Read the Image Source case study.
Benefits of Planting Trees Per Product Sold for Brands and Companies
Three commercial benefits are consistent across companies using this model:
Automatic scale. Unlike a one-time forest donation or a fixed annual commitment, the trees-per-product model scales with commercial performance. A good quarter means more trees. A product launch means immediate forest growth. The environmental commitment and the business performance are directly linked, which makes the programme visible and meaningful to sales teams, not just sustainability teams.
Customer engagement at point of sale. A personalised Gift Story sent at the point of purchase creates a post-sale touchpoint that most products do not have. The customer receives confirmation of their tree, its location in Tanzania, and impact updates over time. That is a post-purchase engagement mechanism that reinforces brand loyalty without requiring a separate CRM programme.
Product-level ESG data for reporting. Forest Profiles track the trees associated with each product programme specifically. CO2 sequestration data from the Working Trees field study is field-measured at 0.025 tonnes per tree per year. Philips can report the Philips Monitors Forest as a product-specific environmental contribution in its ESG disclosures, not a general corporate commitment, but a product-specific, tracked, named asset.
How Brands Can Make Sustainable Trees-Per-Product Claims Compliant
Companies making environmental claims about their trees-per-product programmes need those claims to be specific and substantiated. Under EU ECGT (2024/825), UK CMA Green Claims Code, and US FTC Green Guides, companies cannot describe a product as “sustainable” or “eco-friendly” based on a tree planting programme without evidence that the claim is accurate and not misleading.
What Philips Monitors can say: “We plant a verified tree in Tanzania for every qualifying monitor sold, independently field-measured by the Working Trees study at 0.025 tonnes CO2 per tree per year.” That is a specific, evidenced claim. What Philips cannot say based on this programme alone: “Our monitors are carbon neutral.” The planting contribution is one part of a lifecycle, not the full lifecycle.
GreenClaim.ai helps companies review the specific claims they make about their trees-per-product programmes, covering product pages, in marketing materials, and sustainability reports, for compliance risk under EU, UK, and US green claims regulations.
Research and References
- ForestNation case study: Philips Monitors. Tree per monitor sold since 2020, 60,000+ trees in the Philips Monitors Forest. forestnation.com/case-studies/philips-monitors
- ForestNation Working Trees Field Study. Field-measured CO2: 0.025 tonnes per tree per year. Five Tanzania sites. forestnation.com/impact-methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
What companies plant trees for every product sold?
Philips Monitors plants a tree for every qualifying green monitor sold (60,000+ trees since 2020). Solution Group plants 100 trees per €5,000 of client spend on promotional products (134,000+ trees, clients include L’Oréal Italia, LVMH, Henkel). Image Source plants one tree per order placed, including product-specific client campaigns. All programmes run through ForestNation with verified trees in Tanzania.
How does a trees-per-product programme work?
You define the product or product range and the tree count per unit sold. Any company can set this up without software integration. ForestNation plants trees in verified Tanzania sites as each batch is ordered, updates your Forest Profile, and provides impact data. Customers can receive personalised Gift Stories connecting their purchase to a named tree in Tanzania. No software integration required.
What is the most profitable tree to plant for a business?
The commercial return from a trees-per-product programme is not timber revenue but brand value: customer engagement through Gift Stories, ESG reporting data from Forest Profiles, and product differentiation in markets where competitors make vague sustainability claims. Philips Monitors features its 60,000-tree forest in sustainability reports and press releases as a specific, verifiable product-level environmental contribution.
How can brands make compliant environmental claims about tree planting per product?
Make specific, evidenced claims: “We plant a verified tree in Tanzania for every [product] sold, field-measured at 0.025 tonnes CO2 per tree per year by the Working Trees study.” Do not claim the product is carbon neutral based on this alone. That requires full lifecycle verification. GreenClaim.ai scans product pages and marketing materials for green claims compliance risk under EU, UK, and US regulations.
