GCash users plant milestone 1 million virtual trees in GForest

by Richmond Mercurio – The Philippine Star, 4 Jan 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The environmental sustainability feature on the GCash app has hit a new milestone, as more users are helping contribute in the fight against climate change.

Mobile wallet GCash said it has virtually planted one million trees through GForest.

The virtual trees are planted by GCash users via the GForest on the app, and GCash in turn plants the real trees on their behalf.

“With the impacts of climate change, GCash capitalizes on technology in contributing and raising awareness to environmental conservation and sustainability,” GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon said.

GForest was launched in 2019 and now has nine million users.

Users can earn green energy points by using the various cashless services of GCash, such as send money, pay bills, or bank transfer on the app.

GCash said these digital financial services also lessen their carbon footprint, in addition to planting trees.

GForest users can also collect green energy every time they walk if they enable GCash to access their health app or fitness tracker.

These green energy points can be used to plant virtual trees.

As of November 2021, GCash said more than 133 million digital and paperless transactions have been made in GCash to earn green energy points for GForest users.

It said this is in line with the company’s mission to support environmental sustainability by keeping individual carbon footprint low and helping fight climate change.

“We hope that through GForest, we are able to empower more Filipinos to help in protecting the environment,” Sazon said.

GCash said it is the only fintech company in the country to have a sustainability feature integrated within its app, and has been recognized by global sustainability organizations.

“The GForest program proves that marrying new technologies with creative sustainability solutions are something organizations can achieve,” GCash vice president for communications and public affairs officer Chito Maniago said.

Aside from GForest, GCash’s various digital products and services enable users to go cashless for various transactions, which helps keep their carbon footprint low and fight climate change.