More than 500,000 Trees Planted
Hanwha Group is actively responding to climate change by expanding its Solar Forest campaign.
The group and social enterprise Tree Planet launched the social contribution campaign in 2011 in order to expand forests. They started from desertification prevention in Tujiin Nars located in Selenge, Mongolia in 2012 and have created a total of seven forests in China, South Korea and other parts of the world. The total area of the forests amounts to 1.33 million square meters and more than 500,000 trees have been planted there.
The campaign is very special in that it utilizes solar tree nurseries, which are a more eco-friendly way of forest formation. Hanwha Group and Tree Planet have used the method since their second project of the campaign and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification covered the anti-desertification method as a best practice in 2011. In addition, in 2018, the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development mentioned it as a way of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Hanwha Group and Tree Planet planned to create their eighth forest this year. However, with the plan affected by COVID-19, they are concentrating instead on online campaign promotion for more awareness and participation. In this regard, they launched the Solar Forest app for iPhone and Android phone users.
Users can choose and grow their plants in the virtual space of the game-type app. The app is designed so that the solar tree nurseries can be virtually experienced. Specifically, the solar panel in the app receives energy and assists in the plant growth when a smartphone with the app is directed toward the sun and its illuminance sensor detects the sunlight. Gardening is activated and gardens of various themes can be created once the growth is completed. Garden donation is activated after the garden creation. Those donating their gardens can participate together in the creation of the Forest for Everyone.
Nine plants can be planted per garden and each garden donation raises the Forest for Everyone by one floor. The height of the Forest increases in proportion to the number of donators. Hanwha Group is going to determine the size of the eighth forest based on the height of the Forest.