Technology has made it possible for everyone to help plant trees even from one’s desk, home, or wherever one may be. Through an innovative feature of leading mobile wallet GCash, every transaction is a step toward helping increase the country’s forest cover.
Launched last month, GCash Forest makes spending and any other transaction on the app an act with a reward that redounds to the environment.
In partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the World Wildlife Fund and the Biodiversity Finance Initiative, GCash has made the app a virtual place where users could make a real-world impact.
Through GCash Forest, users can help plant trees at the Ipo watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan, part of a watershed system that supplies nearly all of Metro Manila’s water needs.
The more one use the app, the more the person earns “green energy points.” And with the points, the person will get to choose the kind of tree to plant in his or her area of choice at the watershed.
As a virtual donor, the person will get an actual certificate of ownership with the tree’s serial number and fun facts. The person will also get updates on the growth of the tree through the GCash app.
This week, GCash just upped the stakes: the more the person earns green energy points for the reforestation effort, the more chances he or she gets to win P2 million.
The GCash user has to earn 400 green energy points to earn one entry for the prize.
It’s a win-win-win really: conveniently pay via mobile, help the environment, and get a chance to become a millionaire.