Sainsbury’s to sponsor tree planting scheme to mark Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Sainsbury’s is to become the lead corporate sponsor for the Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods Project, which aims to plant six million native British trees to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Over the next fifteen months, Sainsbury’s will be supporting the project and raising £1.5 million for tree planting.
To help fund the scheme, Sainsbury’s will increase the number of donations made from products in store. The retailer already donates 1p from every dozen Woodland eggs sold, 2p from Woodland chicken and 10p from Woodland turkeys to the Woodland Trust. This will extend to other products including cereals and everyday household items.
In addition Sainsbury’s will give customers the opportunity to make a ‘pledge’ in store to plant a tree to mark the Diamond Jubilee and will encourage schools to plant trees by promoting activity through its Active Kids scheme.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King, said: “We’ve already helped plant over 825,000 trees since 2004 thanks to donations from sales of our Woodland eggs and chicken, and this project will see even more donations from products, support through our stores and the Active Kids scheme.
“We’ve got ambitious plans to plant two million trees by 2015, as set out in our 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan, so this project is integral to this commitment, our wider values and we’re proud to provide our support.”
The Woodland Trust plans to create a ‘Sainsbury’s Wood’, within its flagship 460 acre Diamond Wood in Leicestershire, one of 60 such woods created across the UK.
Woodland Trust’s chief executive Sue Holden said: “The Woodland Trust and Sainsbury’s have a longstanding and fruitful partnership and I am therefore delighted to welcome Sainsbury’s on board as the lead sponsor for our Jubilee Woods Project. A project which will suitably commemorate HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and provide a fitting legacy for generations to come, providing recreation, cleaner air and vital habitat for wildlife.”
