Send an SMS – plant a tree

Kick off with Wangari Maathai

Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, who heads the Green Belt Movement, and Head of Telenor Nordic Morten Karlsen Sørby, will get together on the World Environmental Day 5 June. “The tree-planting campaign of the Green Belt Movement and our SMS campaign will be central to our discussions, and for me it will be a great inspiration to meet such a towering African figure,” said Karlsen Sørby.

NOK 20 per SMS

On the World Environmental Day Telenor Norway kicks off its SMS campaign to buy more trees for Wangari Maathai’s organisation. If you send an SMS with the code word “tre” to 2080 you will have automatically contribute NOK 20 to pay for a tree in Kenya as part of the Green Belt Movement. The campaign will last from 5 June to 20 August.

Life-savers

The Green Belt Movement has so far planted more than 30 million trees. These trees provide fuel, food, shelter and an income which can secure education for children and cover crucial household needs. This activity also creates jobs, improves the quality of the soil and the water.

Collecting handsets in Norway

The recycling of old handsets will run parallel with the SMS campaign. The former is a partnership with Telefast, which will pay a deposit of NOK 50 per handset. For each handset approximately three trees will be planted in Kenya.

A greener Kenya

“It is our hope that a great many of trees will be planted in Kenya as a result of the SMS and mobile handset campaigns. Telenor wants to be part of the solution to the environmental challenges we are facing today. These two initiatives are the most tangible contributions from us in connection with the World Environmental Day,” said Karlsen Sørby.

For more information, please contact:
Scott Engebrigtsen, Head of Information
e-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com