The search engine planting trees around the world

Want to make a real impact on the planet but have no idea how? Browsing the internet with Ecosia is one step towards regeneration, founder Christian Kroll tells Sean Russell

Green and good: the company has planted more than 133 million trees (Ecosia)

What is one of the most effective things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint? Reducing food waste, perhaps, or eating less meat, riding a bicycle instead of driving that short trip to the shops, or what about changing your search engine to Ecosia? It sounds too simple to be true, but this small change can have a massive effect on the environment.

Christian Kroll, the founder and CEO of Ecosia, isn’t like most tech entrepreneurs. He chooses to live modestly and within his needs. He doesn’t have a mansion or a yacht – although he does have an inflatable boat – and he receives a salary from Ecosia but nothing else. In fact, Kroll has sold his shares in Ecosia to a foundation and has made it legally impossible for Ecosia to make a profit or be sold to some big conglomerate. He simply retains voting rights. The way he sees it, every penny spent on himself is a penny less spent on planting trees.

“I think there are more important things than accumulating wealth,” Kroll tells me from Germany. “Especially if I see all those billionaires flying to space, buying fancy cars and yachts, for me, I personally think it’s really, really stupid.”