

The number of trees required to compensate the company’s carbon footprint is calculated according to the amount of carbon dioxide which will be absorbed. The costs of this partnership are minimally € 4,200. Finally, a company can purchase more than 20 trees and become an ELM PARTNER.

This partnership costs between € 1,200 and € 4,000. A company that purchases 6 to 20 trees becomes a MAPLE PARTNER. This partnership entails a cost between € 200 and € 1,000. The basic partnership is the ELDER TREE PARTNERSHIP, which consists of purchasing 1 to 5 trees. Next the businesses can select the type of partnerships they would like to purchase to neutralize their carbon footprint. This tool allows businesses to calculate the quantity of carbon dioxide involved in their processes and services. Participation of the town council and local businesses in the GAIA initiative is on a voluntary basis.Ī business that is interested in participating in GAIA can request an easy-to-use tool from the project website.

The financial compensation is used to purchase plants and maintain trees throughout the city.
Gaia project using transdims driver#
The GAIA mechanism is based on the idea to use financial compensation for the carbon footprint of businesses as a main driver for action. In addition, green areas can help to decrease air pollution in the city. They also help to preserve vulnerable areas such as river banks and landslides areas through their roots. The planted trees increase the number of areas with shade in the city and reduce groundwater withdrawals through their capacity of releasing water that they have extracted through their roots into the atmosphere. Consequently, tree foliage can help to reduce overall temperatures in the city by 4.5 C. Trees can provide necessary cooling during heat waves through evaporation and transpiration, which creates a natural air conditioning effect. The city decided to create the ‘green areas inner-city agreement’ (GAIA) based on a public-private partnership model to finance tree planting.
