The Search Engine That's Saving The World!

Posted by Ellie Hutchin on 1st Jul 2017

What is Ecosia?

Like Google, Bing, Yahoo and all the others you may have heard of, Ecosia is also a search engine, except it is the most economical search engine out there! The site, based in Berlin, donates 80% of its revenue generated by advertisements to reforestation organisations. This means, each time you click on an ad that you have a genuine interest in whilst browsing Ecosia, then you are helping to plant trees!

The 100% CO2 neutral search engine acts within the ethos that profit should not be the primary objective of a business. This was something that dawned on Ecosia’s founder and German national, Christian Kroll, during his global travels in 2008, as he unveiled the prominence of the world’s trees. They appreciate that trust must be earned, as skepticism is to be expected when an establishment claims to support charitable causes, and the best way to do this is with company transparency. Therefore, to enforce this, the site publishes its donation statements and tree planting receipts on its website for all to see as proof.

Christian decided to travel the world after the morale of corporate business and its care for the world left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was within these experiences, that Christian was inspired to begin a business that made a difference, and so came the birth of Ecosia in 2009.

How Does It Work?

Image Credit: Ecosia

If you decide to browse with Ecosia, you can assist in reforestation if you click on an ad that you are legitimately interested in, or perform certain types of activity on sites that you were directed to via the search engine.

Potential new users can be reassured in the quality of the search results you will receive from Ecosia, as they have not attempted to create their own independent search algorithms. Therefore, the substance of information received does not have to be sacrificed for environmental benefits!

However, a mistake that some users may feel inclined to make, is to randomly click on the ads to try and support tree planting. You should know that arbitrary clicks are extremely counterproductive for both the advertiser, and Ecosia itself, and there is an algorithm in place to detect and invalidate fake clicks. They appreciate the intentions, but please only click on ads that you wish to delve into!

Why Do We Need Trees?

An estimated 15 million trees are cut down every year, which is tragically detrimental to the ecosystems that inhabit them, but why is it equally concerning for us?

Humans of course, rely on oxygen to be able to breathe. To be able to breathe, in turn, allows one to populate the earth as a living organism, as we know. Carbon dioxide, as again, I am sure most of us know, is poisonous to humans in copious quantities, and as CO2 is what humans exhale, have you not thought about why most of us aren’t just dropping dead in the middle of the street?

Well, we can thank our leafy friends for that, as trees absorb carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases that are harmful to the environment) and emit oxygen! They help to make our air purer and protect us from carbon dioxide toxication.

In light of this, it seems dumbfounding that humans continue to extinguish forestation, when it is a pure and free way to provide sustainability for humans, animals and the environment.

What Has It Achieved So Far?

• Since its emergence in 2009, Ecosia has planted a whopping 7.2 million trees, and counting!
• November 2014 marked the funding of the site’s one millionth tree, and they announced their ambitious mission to have planted one billion by 2020.
• The search engine has won several awards for its speedy growth and clever concept, including ‘People’s Choice’ for 3 years running!
• Ecosia has recently become the first company in Germany to attain B Corporation certification. A title that is awarded to for-profit organisations that meet meticulous standards for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Almost comparable to a blue tick on social media!

What Still Needs to Be Done And Why Should You Use Ecosia?

While it is monumental that one organisation alone has achieved the replanting of over 7 million trees in under ten years, unfortunately this does not account for the 15 million that are lost on an annual basis.

Sadly, it is rare that you stumble across an organisation whose motives do not reside within a bed of dollar signs, and who contribute towards environmental sustainability with no ulterior motive. By making a quick and simple change to the source of your default web browser, with one click, you can be assisting a genuine company in impacting multiple factors in the most positive way possible, which is helping to replant trees that have been cut down for the individual needs of humans. This in turn helps to conserve the plethora of wildlife that are homed around and within trees, making sure us as humans have an unlimited supply of oxygen and carbon dioxide filter, simultaneously reducing emissions for the environment.

You can add Ecosia as your default browser for free! Please pop over to their website for more.

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