Frequently asked questions
It’s important that our members understand what Play It Green does
Below is a list of our most frequently asked questions with our answers
FAQs
Questions about Play It Green
For every £5 subscription or 50p a tree purchase we have 3 direct costs that come out straight away. The rest comes into the business to support running costs and generate lots of new content that comes out every week.
The 3 direct costs are 1. The purchase of the trees, 2. Payment platform costs and 3. 10% of the fee going to the members chosen good cause.
If you research the market most tree planting businesses will do 1 tree for £1 (or 1 Euro) and not pass on 10% to a good cause, quite simply their profit margins are much bigger. Our numbers still stack up to ensure the business will be a success however our goal is do more good in this world.
Transparency and trust are two of the core values at Play It Green. They are part of our responsibility of putting your money to the best use possible. For those who are interested, we’ll be publishing financial reports on this site along with receipts and purchase orders for our trees. We will also publish membership details, so you can see we are doing what we say we are!
Yes. £5 will will make you climate positive however if you are a heavy traveller then you may require a higher subscription.
£5 per month, plants 10 trees per month which more than balance the average carbon footprint for a person living in the UK and therefore you can classify yourself as being climate positive.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) represents 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions which are the cause of global warming and climate change. One tree absorbs on average 22KG of CO2 per year or 1 Tonne over its useful lifetime year, therefore tree planting can be used to offset any carbon footprint left by a person, business, event or product. (European Environmental Agency)
We use averages as tree sequestration rates vary due to the type, age and location (climate, altitude) of the tree. 120 trees per year will absorb more Carbon than you produce in a year (in their lifetime) and help restore lost ecosystems, providing homes for flora and fauna and help restore the climate to what it was.
Play It Green aim to plant 50,000,000 trees within 5 years of launch.
You can choose the subscription that is right for your lifestyle, but included in each subscription is:
- Weekly mailer containing a tip and discount on you can lower your personal carbon footprint, plus lots of education on sustainability including business best practice
- 10 trees planted for every £5 to ensure you are making an ongoing environmental impact
- 10% of your subscription being passed onto a good cause of your choice to ensure you make an ongoing social impact
- Access to lots of business support tools including template sustainability plans, policies and signposting to other services e.g. carbon footprint reporting, sustainable gifts, solar and green energy etc.
- Access to lots of marketing tools including a template sustainability webpage, accreditation badges and much more
- A personalised members page we call a ‘Forest Garden’ that tracks all your impact and allows you to do more
In short, we are neither as the management team decided these models didn’t fit our vision for the business.
Play It Green puts purpose before profit, but profit is necessary to gain investment to help us to scale and make our impact global. In order to acquire this investment and do more good, Play It Green was set up as a UK limited company.
Regardless of the type of business we are, we will operate to our vision and values. We will publish all purchase receipts, minutes of management team meetings and comprehensive annual reports on finances and impact. We will be customer led and totally open in what we do as trust is paramount!
A percentage of annual profits will also be invested into sustainable research and tech solutions.
We say 10% of all revenues raised go towards a “good cause” rather than “charity” because for schools and sports clubs the 10% could be them i.e. used for new books and equipment etc. So sports clubs and schools may sign up to use this as fundraising initiative as well as environmental reasons.
You can check your impact in your Forest Garden. We also publish all our purchase orders and receipts for trees planted with our planting partner and they undergo regular audits which we publish links to as they become available.
The fact that our tree planting partner is trusted by global brands and like us is a member of the United Nations Trillion Tree Campaign, speaks for itself.
The trees are also planted with Gold Standard Accreditation meaning they are monitored and protected in perpituity.
As your business is likely to benefit from promotion due to membership with Play It Green, our advisors believe that the money spent should be a tax deductible expense for most businesses that trade however we recommend that you speak with your business’s financial advisor to double check.
We should point out that we do not charge VAT on our subscriptions.
In effect all the money we take in some form or other goes towards climate action.
We have put purpose before profit, which is why we charge so little for the trees we plant (unlike many other companies).
We also give 10% of turnover to good causes before profit has even been calculated.
Finally, at least half of the profit we make is invested in sustainable innovation, through our partnership with the Green Tech Alliance, to speed up the time it takes to end climate change.
Questions about Climate Change
Just planting trees WILL NO LONGER BE ENOUGH to stop climate change. However, by planting trees, we are lengthening the time we have left before the damage from climate change is irreversible.
Trees also help provide lost habitat for endangered species, an economy for aid reliant communities and help the weather systems return to how they should be.
To stop climate change we need to change our behaviour and live more sustainably.
That’s why Play It Green have teamed up with sustainable products, brands and services to provide you with education on how to reduce your footprint and gain access to choices that will help the planet.
Not only that but we will use the profit we generate to invest in sustainable innovation to find new solutions to make our future certain.
We can’t do it alone, but together as one global community, we can stop climate change and save the planet!
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N20) and Fluorinated gases are called greenhouse gases because they trap heat in the atmosphere which causes global warming.
CO2 accounts for around 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, mainly the burning of fossil fuels which are all Carbon (C) based.
A slight increase in the amount of greenhouse gases means global temperatures rise and climate change.
The two main gases in the earth’s atmosphere are Nitrogen (78%) and Oxygen (21%).
The others gases make up far less of our atmosphere. Argon is only 0.93%, and Carbon Dioxide 0.04%. Trace amounts of other gases include helium, hydrogen, and methane etc.
The atmosphere is finely balanced and along with the earth’s temperature is the reason life thrives on earth. Any changes to these make it harder, for the existing life on this planet, to live.
Human activities are responsible for almost all the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the last 150 years. The biggest source continues to be the burning of fossil fuels.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is produced from chemical reactions such as making cement and the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation.
CO2 remains by far the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
Others are more powerful at trapping heat but there are less of them.
Fossil Fuels are coal, oil and natural gas which have taken millions of years to form and are therefore not renewable. This is the reason why we are transitioning to renewable energy sources such as wind turbines.
Methane (CH4) is produced from agricultural activities such as cow burps and waste management i.e. landfill sites and biomass burning. Nitrous Oxide (N2O) caused by agricultural activities such as fertilizers and burning of fossil fuels. Fluorinated gases (F-Gases) produced by industrial processes, refrigerators and use of various consumer products.
Global warming is the reason our climate is changing. Climate change refers to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world. It also refers to sea level rises due to the expanding warmer seas and melting ice sheets and glaciers.
Climate change poses a serious threat to the existing life on earth due to flooding, extreme weather, and the resulting changes in ecosystems. It brings overwhelming negative social and economic repercussions.
It is estimated by 2050 at least 570 cities and some 800 million people will be exposed to rising seas and storm surges. Some will disappear and others will have to quickly adapt.
Coastal cities badly affected include those in east and south-east Asia, Africa, and the eastern and Gulf coasts of the United States. 90 US coastal cities are already experiencing chronic flooding. Three-quarters of European Cities will be affected by flooding, especially the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. The coming decades will be marked by the rise of ex-cities and climate migrants. Coastal living is becoming a liability: the costs of sea-level rise could rise to trillions of dollars a year in damages by 2100.
Climate change is happening however do not despair as responding to it involves a two-tier approach:
- Mitigation i.e. reducing the flow of greenhouse gases and;
- Adaption – learning to live and adapt to the new conditions. Together we will get through this.
Trees bring a multitude of benefits:
- Removes greenhouse gas CO2 so vital in combating climate change.
- Absorbs and filters water, preventing floods and waterborne disease.
- Provide habitat to 80% of the world’s biodiversity so help life to thrive.
- Forests provide jobs to 1.6 billion people globally [World Bank].
- Regulate climate in their surroundings resulting in less energy use.
- Absorb CO2 and release oxygen so clean the air we breathe.
- A key ingredient in ¼ of all medicines.
- Carbon is captured through photosynthesis as the tree grows and it is stored in the leaves, branches, stems, bark and roots.
For example, with larger eucalyptus species that may be when it achieves mature growth at year 25-35. Within a 100-year project, 80% of sequestration would happen in the first 30 years.
