The international biopharmaceutical company Chiesi planted 1500 new, young trees in Putte today. The Chiesi Forest is an extension of the Krankebossen, where the focus has long been on improving biodiversity. With insight into the relationship between human health and the environment, Chiesi is committed to creating positive change. This is underlined by Chiesi's ambitious goal of achieving 'net zero' greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
The biopharmaceutical company employs 7000 people worldwide, 100 of whom are in Belgium and the Netherlands, and produces medicines for chronic lung diseases, transplantation, respiratory problems in premature babies and various rare diseases. Chiesi already calls itself a "health company" and so the initiative of its own company forest was no coincidence.
Krankebossen
By planting its own company forest, the international pharmaceutical company is already taking an important step towards raising awareness of the need for environmental measures. In collaboration with Forest Forward - the only private company in our country specialized in corporate afforestation -, the municipality of Putte and the local branch of Natuurpunt, the company and its employees planted 1500 trees today on a site of about half a hectare, comparable to the surface area of almost a football field.
The new forest, located just a few hundred meters from the nature reserve 'Krankebossen', is already part of a broader vision to restore the centuries-old Waverwoud ecosystem and is managed by Natuurpunt. By planting native tree species, Chiesi contributes to strengthening biodiversity in the nature reserve in Putte.
Litter campaign
In 2022, Chiesi also organized a large-scale clean-up campaign together with Forest Forward, in which both employees in Belgium and the Netherlands collected litter en masse. The campaign was part of the 'We ACT Day', a day of action that emphasized how much the company wants to assume its social role and improve the health of people and the planet.
Today’s clean-up and planting action are part of Chiesi’s broader sustainability program We ACT – We Actively Care for Tomorrow, which aims to create more awareness and commitment among employees towards a sustainable lifestyle that benefits people and the environment.
“At Chiesi, we see sustainability as an integral part of our business. We want to be a force for good and support concrete actions that strengthen our commitment to climate neutrality,” says Rodrigo Lorca, General Manager Benelux of Chiesi. “We strive to create a world where both people and the planet can thrive in health. With this local afforestation initiative, we are committed to strengthening and preserving biodiversity in our community.” Chiesi aims to improve the quality of life for patients, their families and their communities with innovative products and services. By prioritizing the measurement of the company’s impact and implementing continuous improvements, the company achieved B Corp certification in 2019 and 2022. This global certification recognizes companies that make significant, positive contributions to people and the planet. The certification is awarded after a thorough external audit by B Lab.
Social impact
To realize the new company forest, Chiesi is joining forces with Forest Forward, an organization that involves companies in corporate afforestation and nature creation. Over the past two years, the afforestation company has already provided additional nature creation in Putte several times, including in collaboration with companies such as DELA, BAM and Cegeka. Since 2021, Forest Forward has already succeeded in realizing almost 150 hectares of nature throughout Flanders, especially in urban areas, together with companies.
"Just like Chiesi, who is definitely a pioneer in this, fortunately more and more companies are working on sustainability these days. And it is certainly not always because the regulations supposedly oblige them. On the contrary, more and more companies are not only working on making their internal processes more sustainable, they also want to literally - and preferably locally - generate social impact. That can only be encouraged," say Dajo Hermans and Frank Missoul of Forest Forward.
