It’s been almost a month since the Million Trees Foundation, Inc. (MTFI) visited the headquarters of the Poul Due Jensen Grundfos Foundation in Bjerringbro, Denmark where we met up with foundation Director Jesper Richter Rasmussen and two officials of Tree Growing Network. 

It was enlightening and educational being briefed by Director Jesper and Grundfos Foundation Secretariat Portfolio Manager Martin Skovrup Bertelsen about the humble beginnings of Grundfos and its founder Poul Due Jensen who started his business in 1945 at his birth town of Bjerringbro to its present status as a global brand with 21,000 employees worldwide.

As the world’s leading pump company, Grundfos’ founder, Poul Due Jensen, created the foundation on 19 May 1975. Poul Due Jensen wanted to make sure that his company would continue to serve the best interest of society for many generations to come.

According to Jesper, the main purpose of the Grundfos Foundation is to ensure and support healthy economic growth and development, but it also donates funds to important and noble philanthropic projects, activities and investments.

While in Denmark, we were afforded to personally meet the prime movers of Growing Trees Network Foundation in the persons of Formand Lars Heiselberg Vang Jensen and CEO Kim Nielsen. 

Growing Trees Foundation is an organization based in Denmark that supports efforts to combat global warming through tree planting  and it is a local partner of Poul Due Jensen Foundation. It is aligned with the goals of MTFI since tree planting initiatives contribute to various environmental causes such as protecting drinking water, creating recreational spaces, and increasing biodiversity.

According to Nielsen, the government in Denmark encourages Danish land owners to allow the planting of trees in their idle lands to be converted into forested areas, a policy that might as well be adopted in the Philippines. We look forward to forging ties with the Growing Trees Network Foundation which became an environmental sensation when it successfully launched its Kiddie Burger for Trees Project. 

Among the highlights of our official visit in Denmark was the planting of 30 saplings of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) which is a widely recognized tree species in Denmark, known for its large size and long lifespan in a sprawling private property in Viborg, a neighboring town of Bjerringbro. 

In its 2024 annual report titled “A Global Force for Good,” Poul Due Foundation awarded 57 Community Engagement Grants worth DKK 225 million to local causes across the globe including: fighting plastic pollution in Vietnam; supporting the planting of million trees in the Philippines; and, Urban Journey for Distant Mountainous Areas Students in China which was a recipient of the 2024 Grundfos Community Engagement Award. 

Over the last two years, Poul Due Jensen Foundation and Grundfos has served as MTFI’s institutional partner with an annual grant of €23,700 (P1.4 million) in support of the various sustainable projects of MTFI at the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center. We are hopeful that the strong partnership between the two foundations continues to endure and prosper through the years. 

Here in the Philippines, Grundfos has a project called the 9150 CARES GOES GREEN PROJECT with the MTFi and involves the following: a) the procurement and planting of thousands of seedlings/saplings involving fruit bearing and indigenous trees in the next three years;  b) monitoring the actual process of reforestation or rehabilitation needed for one year and replacement of dead saplings if the need arises; c) re-bagging of seedlings; and, d) maintenance, operational and information campaign support for the MTFI and the project. We are inspired to work with Grundfos Philippines led by Country Director Josephine de La Cerna and Bobby Fraga. 

Looking back at our recent visit to Denmark, we are grateful and blessed for the wonderful opportunity of networking and firming up ties with Poul Due Jensen Foundation and Grundfos.