2023 ESG Report
Justin plants 360 trees to offset Paper usage
May 16, 2024
Within hours of attending last year's Sustainability and Social Impact webinar, Justin Charummoottil, Specialist, Systems and Analytics, Wellwise by ShoppersTM opened his spreadsheet and calculator to work out the math on how much paper was used across Wellwise by Shoppers stores in a year.
After learning about nature-based climate solutions(Open in a new tab), presented by the World Wildlife Fund, Justin got motivated to act for 2023 Earth Week. “I thought to myself: why not align my personal development goals with that of the company’s priority to fight climate change?”
Justin’s passion for environmental stewardship took a different turn. He decided to make an impact on a much larger scale, bringing several family members, friends and colleagues along the way to get behind his work.
According to his slightly rounded but well-founded estimate, Justin determined that approximately 360 trees would need to be planted per year. This would offset the paper used by Wellwise to support a paper-reliant customer base from an older demographic. And that’s just what he did in 2023.
“The webinar brought forth the immediate concern that we all feel, but also gave me hope for a better future. That’s why I made my Earth Week pledge to plant trees. It was fascinating to learn that nature can provide 30% of the solutions to mitigate climate change and create a space for the wildlife to thrive.”
When asked about his experience planting trees, he’s quick to respond: “It’s a lot of work! One is working with a lot of uncontrollable factors – weather, soil condition, etc. When it rains, it can take hours. But the effort was deeply rewarding. Knowing that the trees, which can live for a couple of hundred years, will continue to give shade and sustenance to many diverse species long after I’m gone brings me a deep sense of fulfillment. It’s a great way to fight climate change – which is not a distant future but it’s here and now.”
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As a company driven by purpose to help Canadians Live Life Well, Justin’s story speaks volumes of the sustainability culture we’re cultivating and strengthening every day. If you’re interested in planting trees or keeping native plants at home to protect biodiversity here are some of the options Justin suggests you look at:
Buy native plants: With native plants available in 132 selected Loblaw garden centres(Open in a new tab) across southern Ontario and western Quebec this year, many colleagues living in the Carolinian Zone can easily support biodiversity from their backyard, balcony, and beyond!
Re-grow(Open in a new tab) is a good resource on how to grow native plans (it’s easy.)
Reach out to your local municipality; many of them offer tree planting on street/municipal properties to increase the local tree canopy.
Attend Community Stewardship events run by tree planting organizations or volunteer with local forest conservation authorities near you.
