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tentree Tentree Case 3 Tentree International | A Canadian Firm Dedicated to Protecting the Planet It's a story conceived in Hawaii, nurtured in Canada, and soon spread around the world. Three young Canadianfor: $100,000 and 20% of the business. As it turned out, after going through the necessary due diligence, the partners discovered that they didn't need the investment after all. However, the exposure they received from being on the show catapulted their business to stagger- ing heights. Before appearing on Dragon's Den, they only planted in Canada. Aftertheir appearance on the show they were able to move to worldwide projects. In 2014 they established a tree registry program that allowed cus- tomers to track where their trees were being planted and the impact their contribution was making. Here's how it works: - A customer receives a unique tag with every piece of apparel with its own tree code that corresponds with the customer's own ten trees. . The customer is asked to register their trees. This registration enables the customer to track their trees and see where they will be planted. . Once the customer has their code, they can track their trees and the impact the trees are making on the environment. Derrick expressed his and his partners' commitment to this tree reg- istry program. \"It's always been our goal to bring the customer closer to their impact. This purpose is what allows us to plant trees, provide jobs, and help an incredible number of people. We want every cus- tomer to feel emotionally connected to this impact. The tree registry program allows us to do this by highlighting where the trees will be planted and the type of tree-and then allows us to provide updates and progress.\" Their second big break came in 2016 when they became certied as a B Corporation, B standing for benet, more familiarly known as a B-Corp. This certification represents \"the highest standards of veri- fied social and environmental support, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose." At the time oftheir cer- tification they had planted over a million trees, providing employment to underprivileged communities around the world in such countries as Madagascar, Brazil, Cambodia, and Haiti. The trees helped to revitalize damaged ecosystems and remove pollution from the atmosphere. A candidate for B-Corp certification must achieve a minimum score of 80 points on various standards; ten- tree achieved a score of 124.6. By March of 2019 they had reached another milestone: 30 million trees. Their products are currently either sold online or available in over 330 retail stores worldwide. In 2020, after nine years of operation, they had planted 43 million trees, and were still as committed to "minimizing [their] environmen- tal impact, uplifting the well-being of people with ethical labour prac- tices [including worker] rights and a safe workplace, and recognizing their social responsibility to keep {their} business practices as trans- parent as possible." Their current goal is to reach 1 billion trees planted by 2030. environmentalists were determined to address ciimate change andpovertyond to have an impact on the lives ofothers in positive and ethical ways. impossibie?Here's theirstory. In 2011, David Luba was on a student exchange program in Hawaii, finishing up his Business Administration degree from the University of Regina. In his free moments, he was enjoying the outdoor magnif- icence ofthe islands. He spent his days surfing, mountain climbing, hiking, bicyclingall the activities that an outdoor person enjoys. It became apparent to him that this natural beauty could be threat- ened by the climate change that other pans of the planet were already experiencing. As an outdoor enthusiast, David felt compelled to do something not only to minimize the planet's decline, but to create a growth-providing project that could protect our forests and natural landscapes from pollution, industrialization, and deforestation. On his Facebook page he published images of the magnificence ofthe Hawaiian landscape and his reverence for it. Soon, another envi- ronmentalist, Kalen Emsley, noticed David's Facebook pages. They had played football against one another in university and soon began an online exchange that would eventually turn into a business part- nership. Kalen and his brother Derrick had been running a tree farm in Canada since high school, and Kalen was also finishing his degree from the University of Western Ontario, Ivey School of Business. So Kalen and David had several common pursuits: business, sports, and the environment. One day, David decided to call Kalen and suggested that they jump on a plane to Hawaii to experience its natural beauty. Kalen was on a plane the next day. They hiked, climbed,swam, surfed, dove, and through their subsequent conversations they deepened their bond by deciding to make the earth a better place by planting trees. That was in 2011. Within a couple of years, their concept cap- tured the attention of retail partners and consumers, and continued to grow rapidly throughout North America. Their first task was recruit- ing Kalen's brother Derrick as their CEO. When Derrick came on board, everyone's energy soared. To ensure that their product could support their goal of protecting the planet, environmentally progressive mate- rials became imperative. As tree planters first, and a clothing brand second, sustainable materials such as cork, Tencel, and organic cotton quickly became standard fabrics within their product assortment. The apparel industry was beginning to see a shift, where consumers wanted to feel that their purchase was making a meaningful impact. The connection was: for every item a customer bought, ten trees are planted. Simple. They launched their business in 2012 and began selling apparel using Kalen's basement as their inventory warehouse. Business took off quickly. They soon enlisted reforestation partners such as Parks Canada to help them decide where the trees should be planted, which indigenous trees they should plant, and how the stewardship of the trees should be monitored. Eventually they would work with other planting partners from around the world, such as Eden Projects, One- TreePlanted, and Trees for the Future. Each were key players in non- profit reforestation. Wherever tentrees chose to plant, they would make arrangements to ensure that the locals would be in charge of the project, createjobs, and take ownership to see the projects through. The locals benefited fromjobs and a more stable livelihood that could be made from the trees themselves, such as by harvesting the fruit. The founders also felt an affinity for the needs of their customers, who wanted to feel that their actions made a difference. By March of 2013, one year later, they got their first big break when they appeared on Dragon's Den, the hit TV show on which busi- ness people invest in promising businesses. Investors/panelists Arlene Dickinson and Bruce Croxon were so impressed with tentree's pitch, they teamed up to give David, Kalen, and Derrick what they came