DHL Express partnered with Kenton County Conservation District to  plant 6,500 trees along Banklick Creek, part of the Mississippi watershed in northern Kentucky.

More than 40 DHL employees and the district kicked off the initiative Sept 26 by planting 160 native hardwood trees and 40 native shrubs.

“We are happy to give back to a community that is so important to our business and that many of our employees live and work in,” said Colin Beynon, a vice president at DHL, which has U.S. headquarters in Plantation, Fla. “Initiatives like this not only encourage teamwork but also help ensure we are fulfilling our responsibility as a company to contribute toward a sustainable future.”

The DHL “Plant a Million Trees” initiative, which is part of its GoGreen and Zero Emissions by 2050 plan, calls for the company to certify 80% of its employees as GoGreen specialists and involve them in its climate protection activities. One of the ongoing projects is partnering with community conservation groups to plant 1 million trees globally every year. Last year, the first year of the “Plant a Million Trees” initiative, DHL planted 1.05 million trees globally.

“With competing demands on constrained public budgets, it is imperative for public agencies and nonprofits to engage with the private sector to find new ways to accomplish our shared goals,” said Chris Kaeff, a supervisor within the Kenton County Conservation District. “DHL’s commitment to planting 1 million trees globally every year is the good corporate citizenship that will help lead this generation out of an uncertain future, into a sustainable one.”

Source: Transport Topics Oct. 8, 2018