Image caption: Trees for Cities plant thousands of trees across the UK
As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability, Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, has partnered with charity Trees for Cities to plant 21,000 trees across the UK, improving air quality and bringing a range of benefits to local communities.
Spread across locations such as Plymouth, Hull, Cardiff, Ipswich and Fleetwood, the project will help transform urban areas into greener, healthier spaces. The next community planting day will take place on 14 February at Gippeswyck Park in Ipswich and will see ABP colleagues and their families join the other members of the local community in greening the area.
The number of 21,000 trees has been chosen because ABP owns and operates 21 ports across England, Scotland and Wales, supporting over 119,000 jobs across the supply chain.
Rory Field, Corporate Partnerships Director - Trees for Cities, said: "We at Trees for Cities are proud to work with Associated British Ports on this strategic project. Urban trees sequester CO2, improve air quality and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
“The trees also host thousands of species and subspecies in the harshest of environments and contribute to our physical and mental health. ABP is helping us to create a greener, happier, and healthier environment for today's and future generations."
Forming part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, the trees can be seen on interactive map found here, which showcases the locations where planting projects have taken place. As part of the project, over one million trees have already been planted across the UK in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.
Henrik L. Pedersen, ABP’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Improving social, economic and environmental sustainability in the communities surrounding our ports is important to us, which is why we are delighted to sponsor Trees for Cities to improve biodiversity.
“This fantastic project will enable the planting of thousands of trees across diverse UK regions, helping to improve air quality and community wellbeing.”
In addition to supporting biodiversity, ABP’s ports play a key role in enabling the UK clean energy transition. With ABP’s sustainability strategy due to be launched in late February 2023, the company will be publishing its targets to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations.
