Ecosia: Fighting Climate Change Through Search

In a world where climate change is a major concern, innovative initiatives such as Ecosia and Reforest'Action play a crucial role. Both organizations are dedicated to reforestation, offering concrete solutions to fight deforestation and its devastating effects on our planet. As our digital usage keeps growing, it is reassuring to see that some companies are turning that usage into a positive lever for the environment.

Ecosia: A Green Search Engine That Funds Reforestation

Ecosia is an online search engine that stands out from the others through its ecological commitment. Indeed, every search made on Ecosia helps fund tree planting in an area in need, such as areas hit by deforestation, fires or desertification.

Since its creation in 2009 by Christian Kroll in Berlin, Ecosia has planted more than 160 million trees around the world, with the help of more than 15 million users. The company is incorporated as a for-profit business, but its founder chose never to pay himself dividends and to devote all profits to environmental projects.

How Ecosia Works Technically

Ecosia relies on Microsoft Bing technology to deliver its search results. In practice, when you type a query on Ecosia, it is sent to Bing, which returns the results. Ecosia then adds its own interface layer and specific features. This partnership lets Ecosia offer relevant search results without having to develop and maintain its own indexing algorithm, which would be extremely heavy in resources and energy.

A Business Model That Serves the Planet

Ecosia's business model is based on advertising. When you run a search on the engine, the ads displayed next to the results generate revenue. Ecosia donates about 80% of its profits to tree planting programs around the world. The rest is used to fund the organization's operations, employee salaries and investments in renewable energy. On average, it takes about 45 searches to fund the planting of one tree.

Every month, Ecosia publishes detailed financial reports on its website, stating precisely how much revenue was generated, how much was invested in reforestation and which projects were funded. This transparency is rare in the tech sector and is one of the pillars of trust in the company.

A Commitment to Privacy and Renewable Energy

Ecosia is committed to transparency and privacy protection. The search engine does not create a permanent profile of its users, does not resell personal data to third parties and lets you turn off all advertising tracking. Searches are anonymized after one week.

In addition, Ecosia powers its servers with 100% renewable energy, a responsible hosting (in French) choice that should inspire more digital players. The company owns its own solar installations in Germany, which allows it not only to power its operations but also to feed clean energy into the electricity grid. Ecosia thus presents itself as a carbon-negative search engine: every search removes CO2 from the atmosphere thanks to the trees planted.

How to Use Ecosia Every Day

Adopting Ecosia is very simple. You can go straight to ecosia.org to run your searches. For even more convenience, Ecosia offers extensions for the most popular browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari), which let you set Ecosia as your default search engine. A mobile app is also available on iOS and Android, with a built-in browser that uses Ecosia as its search engine.

On most browsers, you can also set Ecosia as the default engine directly in the settings, without installing an extension. You usually just need to open the search preferences and select Ecosia from the list of available engines.

Ecosia Compared with Other Eco-Friendly Search Engines

Ecosia is not the only search engine claiming an ecological approach. Lilo, a French engine created in 2015, works on a similar principle by donating part of its advertising revenue to social and environmental projects chosen by users. Ekoru, for its part, focuses on cleaning up the oceans. YourSearch bets on carbon offsetting with every search.

What sets Ecosia apart from its competitors is above all its scale and its longevity. With more than 160 million trees planted and a presence in more than 35 countries, Ecosia has the largest reforestation program tied to a search engine. Its age (more than 15 years of existence) and its financial transparency make it a reference in the field. This approach is part of a broader reflection on digital eco-design (in French), which questions the real sustainability of our development practices.

Efficience IT chose Ecosia; to learn more, visit our Green IT page (in French).

Reforest'Action: Committed to Reforestation Against Climate Change

Reforest'Action is a French organization founded in 2010 by Stéphane Hallaire. Its goal is to plant trees in degraded areas to fight deforestation and climate change. Since its creation, Reforest'Action has planted more than 11 million trees around the world, in collaboration with local partners.

An Approach with High Environmental Value

Reforest'Action's approach is based on a tree planting strategy with high environmental and economic value, which benefits local populations and biodiversity. The organization works closely with local communities to raise residents' awareness of the issues of deforestation and to involve them in reforestation projects. Each project is designed to have a lasting positive impact, by strengthening ecosystems and supporting the livelihoods of local communities.

Reforest'Action's projects cover varied ecosystems: tropical forests, mangroves, agroforestry and the restoration of temperate forests. This diversity is a reminder of the importance of building websites that are compliant with RGAA standards (in French), so that environmental information stays accessible to all audiences. It makes it possible to address different environmental issues depending on the region of the world.

A Sponsorship Model Open to Everyone

Reforest'Action offers different tree sponsorship plans for companies and individuals alike, which let everyone support tree planting in areas in need. Sponsorships can be made online, and each sponsor receives detailed information about the project they funded, as well as regular news on how the plantations are progressing. This transparency and direct connection with the projects make sponsorship even more meaningful.

For companies, Reforest'Action offers carbon offsetting programs that make it possible to integrate reforestation into an overall CSR strategy. These programs come with communication tools to showcase the environmental commitment to clients and employees.

In Closing

Ecosia and Reforest'Action are two organizations committed to the fight against climate change by planting trees in areas in need. Ecosia funds tree planting through its eco-friendly search engine, while Reforest'Action focuses on reforestation in collaboration with local communities. Together, these two initiatives show how digital technology and civic engagement can converge to produce a tangible environmental impact.

For tech companies, this approach is part of a broader reflection on responsible visibility in AI engines (in French). Adopting Ecosia as your default search engine is probably one of the simplest things anyone can do to contribute to global reforestation. It takes no effort, barely changes your browsing habits and turns every online search into a positive act for the planet.

At Efficience IT, we are convinced that technology can serve the ecological transition, which is why we work with energy-efficient technologies and encourage remote work and eco-responsible travel, thereby reducing our carbon footprint. On the technical side, practices such as the web app manifest (in French) let us design lightweight, high-performing experiences that reduce unnecessary data transfers.

To learn more about our commitments, visit our Green IT page.

Going Further

• RGAA standards: a successful user experience for everyone, designing accessible and responsible sites
• Green IT, our responsible digital approach
• Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees