How Grab users helped plant 200,000 trees in Thailand

Iris Chang, Head of Sustainability

. September 20, 2024 . Thailand

After a two-hour journey from Krabi City in Thailand, a group of Grabbers and driver-partners found themselves in the mountains of Khao Phanom Bencha National Park, planting trees at the GrabForGood Forest—a designated site for Grab’s reforestation initiative.

Grab is committed to addressing environmental issues, alongside its consumers. The platform empowers consumers to offset their own carbon footprint while raising awareness about the looming climate crisis.

In 2021, we introduced a feature with which consumers can purchase carbon offset credits at less than US$0.10 per ride. This feature is available in Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand.

Users in these countries can simply toggle on the carbon offset button in the Grab app. These funds directly support the purchase of high-quality carbon credits and our tree-planting initiatives.

The response has been encouraging. In 2023, Grab users purchased carbon credits through over 24 million transport and delivery transactions on the platform.

Driving positive change

Since the launch of the carbon offset feature, some 200,000 trees have been planted in Krabi and Mae Hong Son, including at Khao Phanom Bencha National Park— the tree-planting site we recently visited.

200,000 trees planted in Krabi and Mae Hong Son

Joined by our driver-partners, we had the opportunity to plant trees and meet up with our partners from Thai environmental organisation Conserve Natural Forest (CNF) and greentech platform EcoMatcher. This experience deepened our understanding of the environment and the importance of conservation efforts.

Before it was established as a conservation zone, the forests at Khao Phanom Bencha were at risk due to logging. Today, the ecological diversity of the area has been significantly restored, largely due to the reforestation efforts of local organisations. Our tree-planting initiatives continue to support this.

Apart from environmental benefits, the manpower required for planting and maintaining trees had led to the creation of new jobs and a consistent stream of income for locals who were previously unemployed.

Transparency and accountability

To ensure accountability and transparency, each tree that we plant is individually tagged. This is done with the help of EcoMatcher.

EcoMatcher collects and stores data for each tree. This includes GPS coordinates, allowing us to track the exact location of each tree. It also includes photographs of the trees and records details of the farmers who planted the trees.

Everyone can access the data to directly see the impact of their contributions. EcoMatcher has detailed maps of Grab’s reforestation sites for virtual exploration.

The carbon offset feature is part of Grab’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality. In addition to this, we are building an inclusive EV ecosystem for our driver-partners and are reducing plastic waste. We will continue to look for opportunities to drive positive change on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) front.

Environment

How Grab users helped plant 200,000 trees in Thailand

Driving positive change

200,000 trees planted in Krabi and Mae Hong Son

Transparency and accountability

Komsan Chiyadis

Komsan Chiyadis