Private bank Coutts has planted the first 10,000 trees of a wide NatWest project to create the largest “tiny forest” in Europe.
This was part of Coutts’ promise to plant a tree for every client that chooses to go paperless. The NatWest Group collaborated with The Conservation Volunteers to carry out the project.
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In addition, they are working alongside Barking & Dagenham Council, Thames Chase Community Forest, SUGI, and Wild Urban Spaces to create six new tiny forests in Parsloes Park.
The forests have been planted using the Miyawkai planting method to build dense, native forests and designed to encourage tree growth that is up to 10 times faster.
Furthermore, the NatWest Group and Coutts are aiming to plant 100,000 more trees across a number of UK sites in 2021. This is just another part of NatWest’s commitments to tackle climate change, including being the banking sponsor of the COP26 climate summit, set to take place in Glasgow in November 2021.
Kirsty Britz, director of sustainable banking at NatWest Group, said: “At NatWest Group, our aim is to be a leading UK bank addressing the climate change challenge. We have committed to our operations being climate positive by 2025 and with our partners at The Conservation Volunteers charity, we want to plant 100,000 more trees in the next 12 months which will benefit the environment and give communities natural environments they can enjoy.”
Darren York, CEO of The Conservation Volunteers, added: “The Conservation Volunteers is a UK charity that connects people and green spaces, through activities such as tree planting, to tackle the climate and ecological emergency and provide lasting outcomes for people, communities and nature.
“We’re proud to be a part of this fantastic partnership which will employ both traditional and innovative new tree planting methods and Parsloes Park, a valuable local green space.”
The collaboration launches six new exclusive funds for clients of Coutts and the NatWest Group. It consists of three active funds (US equities, UK equities, and Global Investment Grade Credit) and three index funds (US equities, UK equities, and Europe ex-UK equities).
