Our commitment to the environment

It’s a commitment we call ‘Brother Earth’, and it guides all of our environmental activities. One of those is our partnership with rainforest-saving charity Cool Earth.

Cool Earth works tirelessly to protect the eco-systems and support rainforest communities. Our 10-year partnership has focused on Peru and Papua New Guinea; protecting the forests, saving endangered species and helping local people to develop skills and build opportunities.

Protecting vital species

Working with Cool Earth, we have helped to protect 46 animal species and 13 plant species in Peru and Papua New Guinea; preserving vital bio-diversity in the most important ecosystems on the planet.

Supporting the rainforest and its communities

Over 10 years, the benefits of our partnership with Cool Earth start to add up. In that time, 10,000 acres of rainforest have been protected, with nearly 5 million trees saved from loggers.

That has big implications for our work to reduce our carbon footprint. Trees store carbon from the atmosphere in their roots; but with deforestation, that carbon is released. Cool Earth’s work in Peru and Papua New Guinea has made sure 213,000 tonnes of carbon stays safely in the ground. That’s the equivalent of driving round the globe 20 times.

Of course, protecting natural habitats like the rainforests is great news for the world’s most threatened species. Cool Earth have recently revealed photographic evidence of populations of the Southern Crowned Pigeon and the Spectacled Bear living within their protected areas of Papua New Guinea. Both animals are on the IUCN Red List of most endangered species.

And local people benefit just as much. In fact, Cool Earth’s approach puts people before trees. They work in partnership with rainforest communities to improve health and education, as well as to help people develop skills and improve livelihoods. That lets local people earn more from farming and other businesses than they would from selling their land to logging companies. So, a stronger community means a safer forest.

Find out more about what we're doing to help the environment at a local level.

Everyone can join in too. Just send us your empty Brother cartridges and you’ll be doing your bit to help Cool Earth’s work in rainforests around the world.