Photo: Nestlé SrbijaDuring Nestlé Planting Week, in collaboration with JP "Srbijaume," a tree-planting campaign will take place throughout Belgrade. Young tennis players will plant nearly 400 trees of Pančić spruce, black pine, Thuja emerald, yew, birch, Japanese black plum trees, cherry laurel, lavender, hibiscus, and other types of trees in tennis club complexes.
Nestlé planting week in tennis clubs started on Saturday in the presence of Milan Slavković, president of the Belgrade Tennis Association, Novica Todosijević, independent expert advisor of the Secretariat for Sports and Youth of the City of Belgrade, and tennis player Igor Banićević, while more than 50 young tennis players and schoolchildren from Novi Beograd primary schools participated in the planting of various plants.
At the end of last year, Nestlé Serbia employees planted 225 Pančić spruces along the entire Milutin Milanković Boulevard, and this year they went one step further: nature, sports, and children were combined.
"Did you know that just one tree annually produces enough oxygen for two adults, absorbing carbon dioxide at the same time, and that its canopy physically retains harmful PM particles—fine dust that results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels? Urban environments are particularly at risk, and greening them means providing cleaner air, which is especially important for children who often practice sports activities outdoors. With actions like this, we save the planet and invest in our young tennis hopefuls," said Marjana Davidović, the general director of the Nestlé company for Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
Just like last year, this greening action was also welcomed by the leaders of the City of Belgrade.
"This is a big thing for Belgrade and its citizens, which we at the Secretariat for Sports and Youth support. We have been successfully cooperating with the Tennis Association of Belgrade for years, and we are happy that, thanks to this initiative, young tennis players will have the opportunity to practice their favorite sport in a healthier environment. Large companies such as Nestlé are increasingly showing great responsibility when it comes to the community in which they operate, and we want to appeal to others to take part in these and similar actions," said Novica Todosijević, an independent expert advisor for the Secretariat for Sport and Youth in the City of Belgrade.
"If every resident of our capital planted just one tree, it could potentially mean an average annual filtration of more than 100,000 tons of dust, the absorption of more than 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and the emission of more than 38,000 tons of oxygen. This is precisely why the Planting Week is of great importance for purifying the air and creating new micro-green oases in Belgrade," Adiba Džudović from JP "Srbijašume" explained.
Since 2021 alone, Nestlé has provided 25 million seedlings as part of its global program that it implements for the betterment of local communities and the preservation of the planet. The goal is to plant 200 million trees by 2030 in the areas where it obtains its ingredients and thus contribute to the elimination of 9.3 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Afforestation is also part of the global program of regenerative agriculture, which Nestlé also implements in Serbia with local vegetable suppliers for a healthier environment and better-quality ingredients.
After the successful completion of the Belgrade planting week, young tennis players will get several hundred "allies" that will remove carbon dioxide and harmful particles from their immediate environment and make passing balls over the net not only fun but also healthier.
Source: Nestlé Srbija
Photo: Nestlé Srbija
