Insurer Aviva is giving €5 million to Nature Trust to plant more than one million native trees including oak, alder, birch and blackthorn.
Nature Trust is a not-for-profit firm backed by State company Coillte and Forestry Partners that is planting new native woodland around the Republic.
The insurer’s donation will allow it plant 1.2 million saplings, around 400 hectares, equal to 560 Aviva stadiums, across different sites.
Native Trust says the woodlands will be a mix of trees best suited to each location and will provide habitats for wildlife as well as soaking up carbon dioxide.
Ciarán Fallon, managing director, Nature Trust, said Aviva’s cash would help tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crisis.
“This is a significant step forward in our mission to increase the level of native woodland cover in Ireland on a large scale,” he added.
Declan O’Rourke, chief executive, Aviva Insurance Ireland, said sustainability was strategically important to the company.
“No single company can tackle climate change alone and so we are looking to work in partnership with others,” he added.
Virginia Lawlor, chief financial officer, Aviva Life & Pensions, noted that the group aims to be a net-zero business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement deadline.
