Phoenix, Ariz.

Jennifer Broome, Vice President of Philanthropy

GreenBiz Conference attendees celebrate their hard work restoring North Mountain Park with American Forests and Microsoft, with the help of the Arizona Sustainability Alliance and the Phoenix Parks & Recreation Department.
GreenBiz Conference attendees celebrate their hard work restoring North Mountain Park with American Forests and Microsoft, with the help of the Arizona Sustainability Alliance and the Phoenix Parks & Recreation Department.

AMERICAN FORESTS had a strong presence at this year’s GreenBiz conference, the premier annual event for sustainable business leaders focused on corporate social responsibility, held each February in Phoenix.

GreenBiz 2019 brought together more than 1,200 of the world’s bright- est thinkers and most influential sustainability leaders for an unparalleled look into the pressing challenges, emerging trends and biggest opportunities in sustainable business. American Forests was there to ensure that America’s forests remain front and center in the conversation about how best to address climate change. In addition to mounting an informational booth that drew heavy traffic, and speaking at several sessions on topics like “responsible forestry” and “forests as natural climate solutions,” we also had the good fortune to partner with Microsoft to conduct a Native Desert Landscape Restoration planting. The planting attracted around

50 conference attendees, as well as volunteers from the Arizona Sustain- ability Alliance, and resident experts from the Phoenix Parks & Recreation Department. We planted trees, cacti and other native desert vegetation, including ironwood, saguro and Teddy Bear cholla, in North Mountain Park, part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve in the heart of the city.

In addition to beautifying the park and helping to restore the fragile ecosystem of the Phoenix area, this planting provided an opportunity to educate participants about the critical work and mission of American Forests in both cities and wild landscapes, as well as to help offset the carbon footprint of attending the conference.

Our participation at this conference has already sparked promising new partnership opportunities with companies who are serious about addressing climate change, engaging their employees and greening their businesses. We are proud to partner with such good corporate citizens!