Since BlaBlaCar was created, it has helped save 700,000 tons of CO₂ thanks to carpooling. “It is only a start. The more people share cars, the fewer cars there will be on the road and the more we can do to protect the environment and the people who depend on it”. Preserving the environment and fighting climate change are two issues deeply rooted in BlaBlaCar’s DNA and the company now wants to engage in different ways.

As a partner for the development of commuter carpooling since 2009, ekodev has encouraged BlaBlaCar to take direct action to reduce carbon emissions by preserving the forest. Since 2011, with ekodev and Pur Projet, BlaBlaCar has planted more than 1,000 trees and preserved 3,000 hectares of forest thanks to reforestation and forest conservation projects in developing countries. Each time a passenger books a ride online, BlaBlaCar preserves 1m² of forest in Peru. BlaBlaCar talks about this project directly on its website and encourages its community members to offset CO₂ emissions related to their rides (“Help the BlaBlaCar forest grow”).

BlaBlaCar also plants a tree for each of its employee’s birthday and each New Year to share its commitment with its partners. To celebrate 2015, BlaBlaCar planted trees in Ghana with the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative of 5,000 small cocoa farmers. This cooperative develops agroforestry systems adapted to their plantations in order to recreate and maintain soil fertility.