Enterprise Tree Pledge Surpasses 12 Million Plantings

Since 2006, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation has funded a massive reforestation effort with more than 12 million tree plantings.

Every year, a million trees are planted as part of the Enterprise 50 Million Tree Pledge – a unique public-private partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation that will continue through 2056.

The 12 million plantings represent more than 100 projects in Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the UK – as well as in diverse forests throughout 16 states in the U.S. – Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

“Environmental protection, reforestation and watershed conservation efforts are critical for many endangered species. Many of our 2017 planting projects were selected to restore habitats that threaten both wildlife and people that rely on forests for food, cover and water,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, senior vice-president and executive director of Enterprise’s Foundation.

Last year’s plantings included 180,000 trees in Lake Superior State Forest in Michigan, a forested watershed that provides vital ecosystem services to the Upper Peninsula. The plantings support much-needed habitat for the endangered Kirtland’s warbler, a songbird that requires dense young jack pine for its breeding habitat; provide clean water for high-quality trout streams; and re-establish a stable food source for native game species. Since 2006, Enterprise’s Foundation has funded the planting of 380,000 trees in Lake Superior State Forest and more than 1.5 million trees in the state of Michigan.

Also in 2017, the Enterprise 50 Million Tree Pledge supported its first reforestation project at Davy Crockett National Forest in Houston County, Texas.

“National forests provide habitat for one-third of all federally listed threatened or endangered species,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “With millions of acres of forest destroyed by wildfires and natural disasters each year, the financial support of Enterprise is vital to ensuring that replanting occurs before destruction takes a devastating toll on native wildlife.”