A Great Green Leap Forward
20 May, 2010
Yves Rocher Group Donates 10 Million Saplings
On 30 April, Isha Foundation welcomed representatives of the Yves Rocher Group, France at the Isha Yoga Center. As part of its worldwide campaign “Plant for the Planet,” run under the aegis of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the Yves Rocher Group renewed its commitment to support Project GreenHands (PGH). This will take the total number of saplings donated to PGH by the Yves Rocher Group to 10 million. After the signature of the new partnership at Isha Yoga Center, Aurélia Carré, Director of the Yves Rocher Foundation, and her team went on a five-day field visit to rural areas of Tamil Nadu where PGH is active.
The Yves Rocher Group is the world’s leading brand in botanical cosmetics, committed to nature, human wellbeing, and happiness. In preparation for the celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2014, the Yves Rocher Group declared its commitment to plant 50 million trees in various regions across the globe. In 2007, the Group pledged to support Project GreenHands in planting 1 million trees across Tamil Nadu over a three-year period. The project was kicked off during Isha Gramotsavam 2007 in Chennai, in the presence of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi, and Jacques Rocher, President of the Yves Rocher Foundation. Having successfully upheld this commitment, Project GreenHands is now entrusted with the mission of planting up to 10 million trees. While this is its biggest pledge, the Yves Rocher Group has also taken up commitments to plant trees in Africa, South America, Australia, Russia, and France.
In an effort to take effective measures against environmental degradation, PGH has so far successfully overseen the planting of more than 8 million trees by over 2 million volunteers. Over the next 5 to 10 years, PGH aims to plant 114 million saplings and increase the green cover in Tamil Nadu by 10%.
In 2010, to commemorate the Year of Biodiversity, Project GreenHands and the Yves Rocher Group decided to take another big step towards this goal. The new project aims at establishing a network of nurseries throughout the state which will enable the production of 36 different varieties of saplings that will be made available for free to the population of Tamil Nadu. Interested individuals and organizations can make a pledge with Project GreenHands to plant and nurture them.
For more information, visit www.projectgreenhands.org or call 0422-2580186.
Standing in front of the Yves Rocher project innaugural tree planted 3 years ago at the Isha Yoga Center.
