Boots Ireland has started its initiative to plant 15,000 native woodland trees, to mark their 25 years of business in Ireland.
The company said it will plant trees such as Oak, Scots Pine, Birch and Hazel across an 11-acre site.
The initiative is being carried out in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine's Woodland Environment Fund (WEF).
The WEF provides an access point for individual businesses to help expand Ireland's native woodland resource, by providing additional incentives to encourage landowners to plant new native woodlands that they may not have otherwise planted, had that additional support not been provided.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett joined Stephen Watkins, Managing Director of Boots Ireland in Kilnavara, Co Cavan to mark the start of the initiative.
"Encouraging our native Irish biodiversity to flourish is highly important, and I am delighted to see a company such as Boots supporting the Department of Agriculture-led Woodland Environment Fund," said Minister McConalogue.
"It is important that companies and individuals play their part in reducing the amount of carbon we emit, and I commend Boots and the team for all their hard work," he added.
Stephen Watkins, Managing Director, Boots Ireland said they are committed to their customers and the communities they serve.
"Today, as we begin to plant these native Irish trees, we are proud that this is another action on our continued journey to environmental sustainability.
"Last year our stores and support office reached a goal of operating on 100% renewable energy and reaching 0% of waste to landfill," he said.
Mr Watkins said they have also reached a significant milestone in their products' "environmental sustainability journey".
"In 2020 we eliminated 2,020 tonnes of plastic from our Christmas gift ranges by completely removing single-use plastic packaging, and in 2021 we saw many sustainable product innovations," he added.
