Innovation

The Data Forest is a remarkable initiative that combines ecological preservation with advanced data reporting techniques. With their core competency in generating and visualizing valuable insights from data, they employ fast and adaptable Business Intelligence solutions. What certainly distinguishes them is their innovative tree-planting strategy, which they have developed in collaboration with the American NGO Trees for the Future.

The NGO empowers locals by educating them to plant and care for trees and compensating them for their efforts, as well as planting fruit-bearing trees, which provide an extra food supply and revenue for the community.

In just over a year and a half, the Hasselt-based startup The Data Forest, led by Michiel Mechelmans, has achieved a commendable milestone: they planted over 12,200 trees across various African nations. Their vision is ambitious, aiming to reach 100,000 trees by 2030.

Inspiration

Businesses are primarily concerned with making a profit; however, the founder believed there had to be a more sustainable approach. He has a son, and the world in which his son is growing up is not improving, so he began looking for ways to link what he is good at, which is creating MBI systems, to something that helps the world move forward.

That is how The Data Forest developed its unique business model, with which they not only want to help companies in other sectors move forward in the sustainability story, but they also want to tackle their own sector. "If tomorrow the big competitors catch sight of us and say, what are those guys from The Data Forest doing? We have to do the same to be competitive. Only then will our mission succeed," Michiel says.

So, with this business model, they want to create value for stakeholders first and profit second. The strength of this model is that it is very scalable so that competitors may replicate it, for example, in South America, so there will be an impact on nature and society worldwide in this sector, and not just in Africa.

Overall impact

The company intends to grow as large as possible, with the goal of reaching 100 employees within ten years. The faster they grow, the greater the impact of their innovation. Finally, the greater the number of employees and billed hours, the more trees are planned, amplifying the effects of the invention.

They are doing this by looking for sustainable companies in the short term and giving them a boost to be extra sustainable. In the long term, as previously stated, they want to get as big as possible and plant as many trees as possible. While tree planting enhances the well-being of those tending to the trees and contributes positively to the environment, they want to do more than just plant trees. The business model supports a culture of increased well-being and success for everyone involved. They aim to pressure companies into integrating sustainability into their business model while providing valuable insights from their data that empower them to achieve greater success.

The Data Forest believes that CEOs will only want to partner with corporations that value sustainability; they note that employees already choose to work in sustainable corporations, but CEOs still need to get that extra push into choosing sustainable decisions over, for example, a cheaper decision. Dataforest sees a change in the future, partly because a new, younger generation of managers will choose to work with sustainable companies over companies that do not focus on sustainability.

Business benefit

Unlike many enterprises driven solely by profits, The Data Forest's core ethos revolves around sustainability, not just as a financial interest but as a way of life. The Data Forest's journey is deeply rooted in its mission to seek and collaborate with sustainable, green companies. Leveraging their proficiency in data, they have fostered smooth cooperation with businesses that share their commitment to a greener world.

After all, they have chosen to work with a US company rather than a Belgian non-profit organization, incurring higher costs and profit taxes because the impact is immeasurable. The Data Forest believes in making a global impact by planting trees where it is most cost-effective. This is how they create a net-positive impact.

Their vision extends into the future as they aspire to compete with the data industry's titans. Being a sustainable company gives them a competitive advantage because banks are required to extend loans to sustainable companies, allowing them to secure additional funds. This avenue for obtaining extra capital can significantly contribute to their growth trajectory. However, they recognize that their goal would be realized if data titans shifted toward sustainability.

Social and environmental benefit

The Data Forest responds to the SDG: climate action by planting a forest, tree by tree, in 5 different African countries. The partnering NGO Trees for the Future plants the trees in areas that can be quickly reforested, such as parched areas that receive enough rain, because the trees provide shade and retain water, and the planted trees will become an ecosystem living on their own. The NGO also aims to reduce poverty by training residents to plant and care for the trees while paying for them.

In addition to planting trees, the NGO monitors the situation and the impact of the trees. In exchange for the partnership, the Data Forest structures data from inquiries of people living in these areas into dashboards, which they then analyze for Trees for the Future. Initially, some concerning results emerged, such as the fact that more than 50% of those questioned had not eaten anything for more than 72 hours.

This innovative approach not only confronts the climate crisis and diminishes carbon dioxide emissions but also addresses poverty in these African regions. In essence, their business model stands as a radical innovation. This pioneering idea of fostering a socially and environmentally sustainable impact could potentially inspire other companies to adopt it into their business model, allowing the innovation to expand on a global scale.

Interview

Michiel Mechelmans, CEO