Our Carbon Action Plan

What is a Carbon Action Plan?

Our Carbon Action Plan is our roadmap to achieving net zero emissions by 2040.

As an organisation that prides itself on sustainability, and managing resources without depleting them for future generations, we are working to understand and reduce our carbon footprint.

We are committed to:

• Measuring our carbon footprint every year (and publishing this data)
• Representing environmental benefits of our projects
• Reducing our footprint year on year to achieve net zero by 2040

We want to be open and honest about our footprint and the steps we are taking to reduce our impact on the planet.

We work with ecollective, an independent team of expert carbon consultants, to measure our carbon emissions. This means an annual audit of our operations, big and small, to calculate the total CO2 emitted by our work around the globe.

What Do Our Monitoring Figures Mean?

Let’s take a closer look at our latest financial year to explain more.

Our total carbon footprint for 2024/25 was 1,058,981 kg of CO2e. In the last year, we planted 3,844 trees and we have calculated how much carbon we expect them to sequester from the atmosphere, taking into account a loss rate.

We are on the right track: our footprint is small but it is there. We aim to reduce our emissions year-on-year, as far as possible, without compromising on the longevity and sustainability of our work.

Tree Planting

In the last 7 years, Just a Drop has planted over 28,957 trees in the communities we work with. Trees help communities enormously, in particular for soil stabilisation, shade, and sometimes fruit. Tree planting means communities can grow more crops and foodstuffs as trees improve soil fertility, stop soil erosion, and provide shade, which can help to achieve the holistic development we aim for. Due to their multiple community benefits, Just a Drop has been planting trees for years.

Fortunately, they also happen to be extremely good for the planet!

Trees ‘sequester’ carbon, meaning they take in and store it as they photosynthesise, meaning they naturally remove CO2 from the atmosphere just by being there! This means that in theory you can measure how much CO2 you’re putting into the atmosphere (your carbon footprint), against how much CO2 you’re taking out of the atmosphere (for example through tree planting), to get a better picture of your impact on the planet.