Challenge
We only have 11 years to keep the planet below 1.5C of warming, yet humans are still emitting CO2 at an alarming rate. The Crowther Lab was publishing the first ever qualitative data of the Earth’s tree carrying capacity, revealing that land around the size of the US is free for forest cover and this could capture two thirds of the CO2 in the atmosphere.
Solution
Launched a global PR campaign, unleashing Crowther Lab’s landmark data and online tool to encourage NGO’s, policy makers and people to urgently support reforestation projects and use the data as a benchmark for a global action plan. Secured supporting comments from environmental leaders including Christiana Figueres, the WWF and Rene Castro (FAO).
Result
Over 700 articles published in more than 100 countries with 134 million coverage views. Highlights: BBC News, The Guardian (front page), The New York Times, The Independent, National Geographic, Reuters, AP, Washington Post. The news articles, videos and social assets went viral on social, the #TreePotential hashtag achieved a global reach of 4.8 million.
Impact
Country-wide reforestation efforts in Ethiopia and India referenced Crowther Lab’s data. Justin Trudeau pledged to plant 2 billion trees over the next 10 years, creating 3,500 new seasonal jobs. The UK Government responded to the story and recognised the need to plant more trees. Huge investors contacted Crowther Lab offering financial support for more research. The research paper is classed in the top 5% for all influential scientific research papers.
Media Coverage
