As of June third 2024, we have returned our platform operations to our Spain-based company
What entity does the Tree-Nation platform operate under, and where is it registered?
Tree-Nation is a platform registered in Spain under the company Neovee Solutions S.L., founded in 2006. The details of the business are below:
Headquarters: Carrer d'Àlaba, 100. Sant Martí, 08018 Barcelona
Registration Number: B64201965
VAT Number: ESB64201965
How has the operating structure of Tree-Nation changed over the years?
Tree-Nation’s structure and registration have varied over the years:
2006: Tree-Nation is incorporated as a company in Spain, under Neovee Solutions S.L.
2019: Non-profit structure is created in Belgium, under Tree-Nation ASBL
2024: Tree-Nation has returned to its original Spanish company, Neovee Solutions S.L.
Will this change impact my forest, or any of the Tree-Nation projects?
No, user forests will still function as they do now, and we will continue to conduct business with our projects as usual, honoring the terms of our agreements and preserving their current profit structure. We will continue working on our platform features to streamline the planting process for projects and sponsors alike.
Will this change increase the price of trees?
No, the price of trees will not be affected. On the contrary, we expect the transition to drive efficiency over time, allowing us to plant more trees overall and observe lower prices per unit. These are savings which we will be able to pass on to our sponsors.
Why did the company initially transition to a non-profit structure?
The transition to a non-profit structure in 2019 sought to attract companies that wanted to donate to Tree-Nation and receive tax deduction benefits, as well as large sponsors that were only willing to work with non-profit entities. At the time, we hypothesized that the switch would allow us to raise more funds for our projects and allow us to plant trees at a faster rate, but this hypothesis was proven incorrect.
Why is Tree-Nation transitioning back to a company structure?
Tree-Nation is transitioning back to its original structure because the premises that led us to become a non-profit (accepting tax-deduction-eligible donations and attracting large sponsors) did not materialize as expected. We now recognize that operating as a company will enable us to plant trees more rapidly while maintaining partnerships with non-profits, and importantly, that upholding our ethical standards is fully compatible with this structure.
As a non-profit, we received donations. The concept of a donation is that the donor does not receive anything in return, but the Tree-Nation goal was always for the service to be a win-win-win-win:
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Win for the planet
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Win for the sponsor
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Win for the tree recipient
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Win for Tree-Nation
Once donors receive something in return for their gift, they are actually categorized as sponsors. Therefore, the Tree-Nation service is incompatible with receiving donations.
Although being a non-profit did allow for new relationships with large companies to develop, we found that the sponsors with the highest motivation and genuine interest in the environment were not interested in donations and their respective tax deductions, but instead, in making the biggest impact possible and helping us to tackle the climate crisis.
What are the benefits of transitioning back to our company structure?
When discerning what constitutes a benefit, we weigh the decision's impact on our mission of planting 1 trillion trees by 2050.
Centralizing our activities in our company rather than our non-profit entity will allow us to:
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Raise funds for our projects, faster: Operating as a company grants us the legitimacy and infrastructure necessary to scale our planting efforts, benefitting our projects all over the world. Our aim is to maximize our funding capacity, and transform it into planted trees.
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Attract talent: We identify recruitment as an important factor in achieving our mission. In the job market, we compete with startups offering employee share packages. Our non-profit status prevented us from offering these, which resulted in premium salary costs and hindered our growth. Moving forward, we will be able to offer fair salaries along with share packages to attract top talent.
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Expand our services: As we only wish to provide services that directly benefit our sponsors, we will not be seeking donations going forward, but will have the capabilities to expand our service offering.
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Raise funds for the company: The urgency of climate change forces us to prioritize the speed of our tree-planting efforts. We need to be open to raising funds from investors to accelerate our growth, a strategy already employed by many other tree-planting companies.
What does this transition mean for the company's mission?
The Tree-Nation mission to plant one trillion trees by 2050, addressing deforestation and climate change, remains unchanged. Transitioning from a non-profit to a company structure enhances our ability to achieve this goal more efficiently. Although we are becoming a company, we will uphold our commitment to reinvesting profits toward our mission (not distributing these to shareholders) as we have done thus far.
What are the legal implications of Tree-Nation carrying out this transition?
The transition of our activities back to our company has been completed with meticulous legal and accounting counsel. Our company will manage the Tree-Nation platform, while our non-profit entity will continue to exist with a newfound mission of establishing micro-conservation projects.
What will happen to the non-profit structure?
Our non-profit structure, Tree-Nation ASBL, will continue to operate. We are exploring different use-cases for it, including the research and development of micro-conservation projects. This would be done by purchasing degraded land and restoring conditions for the flourishment of natural ecosystems.
We will keep you updated of any new initiatives related to our non-profit through our Blog.
How will this transition affect GDPR?
Though Neovee Solutions S.L. will become the new controller of your personal data, (instead of Tree-Nation ASBL) nothing will change for you- the company will manage the data in the same way the non-profit had. All users will be informed of this change and will have the option to deactivate or delete their account and personal data if they do not wish to acknowledge it.
How will this transition affect value-added taxes (VAT)?
All citizens will now be subject to a VAT charge of 21%. All companies based in Belgium will no longer be subject to a VAT charge. Companies based in Spain except those based in Canarias, Ceuta, and Melilla will now be subject to a VAT charge of 21%. See our VAT application rules article for further details.
How will this transition affect Tree-Nation’s partnership with 1% for the Planet?
This transition will not impact our partnership with 1% for the Planet. As long as Tree-Nation maintains its non-profit arm, we will continue collaborating to raise awareness about the importance of dedicating as much corporate revenue as possible to environmental causes.