Treedom allows individuals to plant a tree remotely and follow the story of the project online.

The platform hosts a profile for each tree including its photograph and geolocation. Website users can pay to plant a tree via a local farmer.

Consumers can choose from a variety of species, countries, and environmental impact options. The single trees range from €12.90 ($15.70) for a banana tree in Thailand to €59.90 for a rosewood tree in Madagascar.

The company directs funding towards more than 40 farmer-oriented NGOs worldwide, who oversee the planting.

Since it launched in 2010 in Italy, Treedom has planted over three million trees in Africa, South America and Italy.

During 2021, its impact included:

• Over one million trees planted
• Over 940,000 people registered on the website
• Supported 52 projects in 16 countries: Cameroon, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uganda
• 2,200 hours of training provided to local communities.

One IMPACT awards judge called the initiative an "interesting and proven programme to attract people to crowdfund environmental restoration whilst also improving social conditions".

Another praised the initiative for involving local actors and for "carefully registered and monitored impacts achieved", acknowledging the "huge impact made in smaller communities".

The company aims to plant five million more trees by 2025, with expansion into the US, CEO Federico Garcea said.

However, it may face some challenges. "War, energy crisis, inflation – every organisation around the globe faces some difficulties these days," Garcea said.

"More players are entering the green market. With a growing market it has to be our main objective to offer transparency to our community.

"Every actor has to prove that their actions really create impact. Accountability and credibility, supported by maximum transparency, are the key factors for success in this field. And we are proud to say that people can find that at Treedom."

Treedom's main investors are companies Exor, Generali Bank and OurCrowd, and professional sportsmen Nico Rosberg and Giorgio Chiellini.