There is an increasing need for each of us to act more directly in accordance with the world we envision. It is not enough to merely hope that others will do the work we know is necessary to advance progress towards a better future.
This is true certainly for each of us as individuals, but especially true for those who feel a sense of responsibility for embodying responsible entrepreneurship and for making an outsized impact, as we do at BITKRAFT.
As such, and in-line with our expanding commitment to the greater social good, we are today announcing our #008000 initiative. Imbued in its ethos by the color green, the BITKRAFT Management company will devote financial resources and attention to projects focused on environmental impact and green causes. This initiative also sets the stage for the BITKRAFT Foundation, a dedicated non-profit vehicle which we are setting up to facilitate all our future environmental and social initiatives, also providing a framework for our Limited Partners, Founders and portfolio companies to participate in.
Our first #008000 commitment comes in the form of a reforestation partnership with Terraformation, a tech-accelerated forestry company focused on the restoration of biodiverse forests and seed banking.
Terraformation’s vision is to bring Silicon Valley’s techniques for rapid growth to forest restoration, as forests represent the most immediately available and effective means of carbon capture. Put most simply, Terraformation is addressing the largest bottlenecks to forest restoration at scale.
BITKRAFT’s financial investment in the work of Terraformation will help to underwrite two key projects:
ReClimate, Ukraine – an NGO founded by three women entrepreneurs that creates a sustainable model of forest management, bringing together local foresters and small businesses to maintain the restoration of the biodiverse forests in the Rivne region in Ukraine. To date, 300,000 trees have been planted, and the project has prevented over 100 forest fires in the last three years as well as created dozens of jobs to plant and protect the forest and supported the preservation of 80+ species of rare animals. BITKRAFT will be ReClimate’s first international sponsor, enabling the planting of 10,000 trees. This project was selected prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and both Terraformation and BITKRAFT are undeterred in their efforts to support ReClimate’s instrumental forest restoration work.
The Kilimanjaro Project, Tanzania – a grassroots initiative activating community leaders and local partners to create a scalable restoration initiative around Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, in East Africa. BITKRAFT’s commitment to supporting a reforestation seed bank will help the project’s goal of planting 10 million trees within the next seven years across 13,500 hectares, benefiting over 350,000 people while capturing millions of tonnes of carbon.
Though these project areas mark the beginning of our partnership with Terraformation, our BITKRAFT Foundation will cement our steadfast, long term commitment.
The transition to a more sustainable way of life will require a sustainable commitment not only from ourselves, but all who call our planet home.
To wit, beyond driving material outcomes in service of a greener tomorrow, our greatest hope for the work we do through #008000 is that it empowers our partners, stakeholders and portfolio companies to join us in collective action, and that it inspires similar engagement across our community and industry, as we know that meaningful progress in these areas will require the work of many.
