PORTLAND, Ore — What started as a project to plant just enough trees to replace the ones they used, evolved into a million tree endeavor.
Amber Lotus Publishing is a calendar publishing company located in North Portland.
You've probably seen its calendars. Each one with an inspirational or environmental message.
For decades the company has focused on sustainability, which is why 13 years ago it decided to do something more than just make calendars.
"We plant trees and we plant trees to offset our environmental impact," explained company president Lawson Day.
The company started with the goal of planting just enough trees to cover those used to produce the calendars. Then it decided to plant more trees to offset its entire carbon footprint.
Eventually, the number of trees planted started adding up. The company sold about 500,000 calendars last year. To make those calendars it had to use about 23 hundred trees, but it ended up planting 125,000 trees.
"We plant 56 times the amount that we use," said company co-founder Leslie Gignilliat-Day.
Over the last 13 years, the company has planted more than a million trees.
It partnered with the non-profit Trees for the Future to plant the trees in the tropics of Africa. "By planting in Sub-Saharan Africa the trees grow faster in the tropics and therefore reduce more carbon," said Day.
The company's new goal is to plant an additional million trees over the next five years.
With each tree costing only ten cents to plant, Amber Lotus hopes other publishing companies will start doing the same and replace the trees they use, offset the pollution they make, and plant for a cleaner planet.
"Everyone in the company is psyched about it, proud of it, it feels good," said Gignilliat-Day. "It's the right thing to do."