A number of Danish companies are currently participating in a walking challenge in the app #walk15, where employees’ steps are converted into real trees. They will be planted by the Growing Trees Network in the new Danish Folkeskove.
With the app #walk15, a number of companies have been given the opportunity to participate in a challenge where they have to see over 4 weeks how many steps they can take. And every step counts! When the campaign is over, the steps will be converted into real trees and planted in new Folkeskove by the Growing Trees Network.
Every step counts
The goal for all participating employees is to take enough steps to plant a tree.
“It requires to walk about 8,000 steps a day on average. Therefore, you can not just lie on the couch!” says Cecilia Nielsen, one of the organizers of the initiative in Denmark.
“With #walk15, it is easy for companies to participate and focus on employee health. Our collaboration with Growing Trees gives the steps a completely new value,” says her colleague Frederik Jensen.
Lars Heiselberg Vang Jensen, chairman from Growing Trees Network, is super happy with the new collaboration where companies and their employees through participation in the #walk15 challenge increase employee well-being and health while helping our common planet. Lars explains: “Our dear mother land calls on many new forests to help stem the growing climate change. At the same time, the new Folkeskove are securing habitats for animals and plants, and the ecologically run Folkeskove are helping to protect the clean drinking water of the future by which the migrant employees, their families and the surrounding community are nourished.”
The first companies reached their goals
The campaign in Denmark has only just started, and one of the first companies to reach their goal is the Alfa Laval, where the employees’ has collected 17,600,677 steps and now secured financing for 83 trees. Alfa Laval employee, Pia Olesen talks about their participation: “Walking is a healthy and easy way to be active. Also, walking is for everyone, so Alfa Laval Aalborg was able to put together a team of 74 participants who have really deserved the big gold medal. It has been so much fun to participate, and it has led to daily conversations about how many trees we have now collected.”
At Alfa Laval in Aalborg, they were so engaged that they managed to surpass their primary goal: “We are very proud to have beaten our challenge goal by over 5 million steps”, adds Pia Olesen.
Now all Danish companies can register
Together with the other companies that took part in the challenge during February, 614 trees are already ready to be planted. What is more, a number of companies are about to start their challenges.
“The first companies have until April to settle their challenges and then it will be exciting to see how many steps the companies have taken together. I think there will be a really, really many trees”, says Cecilia from #walk15, before she concludes: “And this is just the first campaign. Now all companies can sign up, so I hope we can increase employee health and well-being, and in collaboration with the Growing Trees Network plant an entire forest with steps. That is the dream.”
