Bona has partnered with WeForest, an international non profit headquartered in Belgium that specializes in restoration projects that benefit the climate, the planet and people.
“Restoring our global forests, particularly in regions such as South America and Africa, is one of the most direct ways to positively impact the climate,” said Magnus Andersson, president and CEO at Bona. “This partnership aligns to the core of our business at Bona which encourages floor renovation rather than replacing the flooring material which often ends up in landfill.”
WeForest conserves and restores the ecological integrity of forests and landscapes and engages communities to implement and deliver lasting solutions for climate, nature, and people. WeForest’s goal is to reach over 100 million trees restored or conserved by the end of 2024.
“WeForest was created to address one of the biggest challenges of our time: climate change,” says Jessica Chalmers, WeForest’s partnerships & communications director. “730 billion tonnes of CO2 must be actively removed from the atmosphere during this century in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and natural climate solutions such as forest restoration have the potential to achieve a third of that by 2030.”
Bona is specifically supporting WeForest’s Brazil project in the state of São Paulo. The Tietê river in the Atlantic Biome is a powerhouse, yet is one of the most polluted rivers in Brazil. WeForest and AES Brasil are collaborating to restore the forest on the edges of the Tietê river and its tributaries with native species, protecting water bodies from soil siltation and runoff from herbicides and pesticides. The project is also providing a testing ground for pioneering restoration approaches that aim to reduce the use of herbicides – which are usually relied on in Brazil to control invasive grasses – or even eliminate them entirely.