A new chapter for landscape restoration: community-based reforestation in Nicaragua

At refurbed, the biggest lever for climate impact is simple: keeping products, especially electronics, in use for longer. But we also know that our business still has an environmental footprint. To support our planet’s health we invest in a portfolio of environmental projects that tackle CO₂, environmental degradation, e-waste, and social challenges.

From 2026 onwards, one of the projects we support is myclimate’s “CommuniTree Programme”: a community-based reforestation and forest restoration initiative in Nicaragua.

This is also a change from the last two years where we supported EthioTrees, a landscape restoration project in Ethiopia (more on the “why” below).

© myclimate

Meet CommuniTree: restoring forests with local farming families

The CommuniTree Programme is based in Nicaragua, in the region of San Juan de Limay and Somoto. It has been registered under the Plan Vivo Standard since 2010 – a widely recognised framework for planning, managing and monitoring verifiable emission reductions (VERs) from community-based land-use projects – and works with 4,000+ small-scale farming families.

With 17,000 hectares being restored (roughly the size of Brussels), CommuniTree is the largest reforestation initiative in the country. The initiative aims to revitalise native forests that have been harmed by severe deforestation in recent decades, largely driven by agriculturally based land-use change.

So how does the project actually work?

• Farmers plant and manage trees on their own land, integrating them into everyday farming rather than treating reforestation as a separate, “stand-alone” activity.
• The programme uses different planting models depending on local conditions and livelihood needs – combining native species and productive trees in ways that support both restoration and income.
• Families receive support and incentives over multiple years, which helps ensure the trees are cared for long enough to survive, grow, and deliver long-term benefits on climate, soil, water, biodiversity, and livelihoods.
• Because CommuniTree is certified under Plan Vivo, the programme includes structured monitoring and regular verification to check that plantings are maintained and that the climate benefits are real and trackable.

CommuniTree offers CO₂ credits from long-term CO₂ storage. CO₂ storage is ensured by growing and maintaining forests on farmers’ land for generations. In 2024, the programme planted trees that would – in the future – capture 362,875 tCO₂e.

© myclimate

Why landscape restoration

Back in 2017, we started with a simple promise: one tree planted for every product sold. Over time, though, we learned that tree planting alone isn’t the most impactful approach – and that a “single-tree” model can become too symbolic and can lack permanence if it isn’t paired with long-term stewardship and broader ecosystem work.

Landscape restoration means rebuilding a degraded ecosystem so it functions again – soil, water, vegetation, biodiversity, and local economic realities included. It’s a holistic approach designed to:

• address drivers of deforestation,
• involve local communities as key partners,
• and create benefits that last beyond a single planting season.

That matters because forests don’t thrive just because trees were planted. Forests thrive when the whole landscape becomes healthy again.

© myclimate

Why we chose this project and our impact

We chose CommuniTree because it combines climate action with real co-benefits:

1) It helps address CO₂ impacts – and supports biodiversity at the same time

2) It creates social impact through long-term livelihoods

3) It supports water systems and resilience of the land

4) Its impact, and with it the impact of our customers, is verified

It is very important for us to make our impact measurable and transparently share our plans and progress. In 2026, we support CommuniTree by purchasing credits for 1,000 tonnes CO₂ captured via this project.

From Ethiopia to Nicaragua

Over the last two years, we supported a landscape restoration project in Ethiopia, EthioTrees, together with myclimate. Thanks to our contribution of over 9,500 tonnes CO₂ being captured – and the support of many other companies – the project reached the point where the available CO₂ credits were fully allocated, meaning they were sold out and no longer available for us to continue our engagement.

We’re proud to have helped bring the Ethiopia project to completion. At the same time, we keep reviewing our portfolio: we want to support projects long term, and make sure our impact investments are resilient by diversifying across different types of environmental challenges and regions.

© myclimate

Beyond landscape restoration

This post is part of a series where we introduce each impact investment partner and project. Find out more about our other project categories: carbon removal innovation and e-waste initiatives.