Workplace technology provider, Amba, has launched a new reforestation programme in Madagascar, designed to repair damaged habitats and support the local community. Alongside its own investment, the company is encouraging its clients and partners to participate to maximise the impact The Lumina Forest Project can have.

The Lumina Forest Project, in partnership with Furthr and Eden Reforestoration Projects will see Amba pledging an initial £25,000 to purchase and reforest an area of land in Madagascar.

Throughout the initiative, the company will plant a minimum of 100,000 trees per year - which clients and partners are invited to participate in - whilst creating stable jobs with fair wages and healthcare benefits for local residents. When one area is filled, another will be sourced, and a further pledge made. This open-ended approach allows Amba’s technology clients to be as small or as large a part of The Lumina Forest Project as they’d like to be.

The move is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to doing right by both the planet and its people. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Madagascar has already lost 80 per cent of its natural areas and it continues to lose an estimated 200,000 hectares annually to deforestation.

This deforestation has not only damaged the habitat but also harmed the communities that live within these areas. The Lumina Forest Project has been devised with these communities in mind and aims to rebuild a rich environment in which local residents and wildlife can thrive.

The company will be documenting its progress throughout the project so that clients, partners and supporters can watch the reforestation happening in real-time.

Tobin Murphy-Coles, CEO at Amba, said: “Our work is centred around helping our clients support both their people and the planet. As we push to find ESG alternatives to every service we offer; it seemed perfectly organic to include reforestation. We ultimately want to do good and help businesses to use their employee benefits as a force for good. The Lumina Forest Project offers us and our partners an opportunity to make a tangible difference to an important cause and we can’t wait to get started.”

Henry Bishop, Co-Founder of Furthr, commented: “Given our close partnership, we're over the moon but completely unsurprised that Amba are launching their very own reforestation site in Ankarafantsika, Madagascar. We've already seen that Amba are trailblazers in the world of engaging, meaningful green benefits, and what better way to get these in the hands of the community by planting a minimum of 300,000 long-term protected, native species trees on their behalf over the next three years. As ever with Amba, exciting is an understatement!”