Sustainability, Climate Crisis, Ethics: Discover Who We Are

ABOUT US

We work towards a planet where the environment can thrive along with people.

We fight against the climate crisis and social inequalities through reforestation of degraded lands and by supporting rural communities across the globe.

WHY ZEROCO2?

We grow resistance through reforestation

We are a certified B Corp benefit company that develops natural solutions to address climate change, protect ecosystems, and support underprivileged communities. We reforest where there is a real need and we support rural families to envision a more dignified future; a future where they don’t have to fight against the expropriation of their own land and where they can apply easy and functional solutions to mitigate the climate crisis.

We believe in a responsible and equitable future for humans and the environment, with no prevarication of the strongest against the weakest. That’s why we work to recreate stable ecosystems in harmony with the plants, animals, and the people who inhabit them. We enable companies to take action alongside us, by helping them reframe their sustainability goals and by actively working with us for the future of the planet. This is not just our goal: it concerns each and every one of us.

Discover the platform

Values

What we believe in

Sustainability is a systemic issue.

It is not possible to conceive the sustainable development of the planet without studying solutions integrated into the relevant geopolitical, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts.

Telling the truth helps all of us.

We are radical because this is the necessary attitude to understand phenomena and act. We are not indifferent to injustice, and we always choose to tell the truth, even when it is uncomfortable.

We can’t solve big problems on our own.

Complex problems call for collaboration-based approaches. We engage experts, activists, communities, and companies who share our values and goals into our actions.

The climate crisis exacerbates inequalities.

The impact of climate change is uneven. It mostly affects disadvantaged communities. We work towards a better future for those who lack privilege today and for those who will lose it tomorrow.

Culture means freedom, power, and change.

We believe that knowledge can change things. Our approach is based on training and sharing rigorous methods and data with all the companies and communities we work with.

Watch “'Resisting deforestation in Guatemala"

Our statement

Grounded, but looking ahead.

We offer solutions to support companies in their transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy. We do this with an authentic, scientific, and transparent approach that places great emphasis on social equity. Our ideal is strong, our connection to reality is even stronger. We reframe and create awareness on the topic of climate change because awareness is the spark that can put sustainability into practice. Above all, we really do what we say and we do it ourselves, getting our hands dirty with soil and truth every day.

2018

Andrea and Virgilio met in Guatemala.

zeroCO2 was born over a dish of pasta in Guatemala. Andrea Pesce and Virgilio Galicia met in Nuevo Horizonte working on a project focused on quality education. While sharing a meal, they talked about Guatemala’s social and environmental problems. They found a concrete answer for the sustainable development of rural communities: trees. Soon after, they decide to start a small nursery behind Virgilio’s house with the goal of giving those trees to local rural families.

2019

We founded zeroCO2 in Italy.

With the aim of enabling individuals and businesses to adopt trees in Guatemala and generate a positive impact on the planet, we founded zeroCO2 in October 2019. We planted the first 10.000 trees from Virgilio’s nursery, in Petén. From this initial steppingstone, the Guatemala project grew with a new team and nursery. More and more communities decided to join the project.

2020

A stable project in Guatemala.

Thanks to the collaboration of the Italian and Guatemalan teams, the Guatemala project became a reliable source of impact for the entire region, succeeding in growing and planting more than 180.000 forest and fruit trees, in collaboration with 20 communities. In November 2020 we expanded in Peru. Here we focus on defending biodiversity in the world’s largest rainforest, going deep into the heart of the Amazon to recover seeds of endangered or threatened species.

2021

New roots in Argentina and Italy.

In early 2021 we wanted to generate social impact through trees also in Andrea’s homeland. We developed new projects with agricultural and social cooperatives in all regions of Italy. At the same time, we started regenerating forests in areas affected by fires in Patagonia, Argentina.

In December 2021, zeroCO2 was certified as a B Corp, with an overall score of 134.3.

2022

Reforestation goes underwater.

From the idea of tackling the climate crisis in its many facets, we decided to start a marine reforestation project by planting Posidonia Oceanica in the Mediterranean Sea.

Around the same time, our team had grown to comprise 30 people between Italy and Guatemala.

2023

New roots in Tanzania.

We put down new roots in Africa, more specifically in Tanzania. We wanted to replicate the project we started in Petén – which has now become a landmark throughout Guatemala and one of the most important in Central America.

In Tanzania, we reforest arid lands at risk of desertification, working with women from Maasai communities. The social impact of this project is strong: we fight climate change and the patriarchy at the same time.

Women in the team

53%

Average age of the team

Women in management roles

60%

Meet our team.

Our team is international and passionately unconventional: we are travelers, scientists, doubters, explorers. And a lot of other things. Get to know us.

CEO & Founder

Andrea Pesce

A traveller since before he learned to walk. He believes a sustainable future is possible but understands that achieving it requires a great deal of courage and quality ingredients. He decided to start from education and trees.

Visit Andrea’s LinkedIn

Co-Founder & Head of Guatemala Operations

Virgilio Galicia

True to his roots and community, he deals with challenges with great enthusiasm and likes getting in the game. Research and studying define his daily objectives. He is a contemporary innovator of a land with much explore.

Visit Virgilio’s LinkedIn

Head of Brand & Product

Nicolò Pesce

“Pesce” in English means “fish”…Like a fish out of water! His ideal habitat are rocky mountain sides. Until not long ago, he was looking for a less polluted “planet B” with weaker gravity. Now he shares sustainability stories. His dream was tame tigers, but now he settled for Bamboo.

Visit Nicolò’s LinkedIn

Operative Director

Francisco Chì

Relationships builder. A steadfast soul who makes the team bigger and stronger. He shares his knowledge with pride and humility and produces widespread information to ensure solid roots.

Head of Sustainability & Partnerships

Miriam Rocca

High-altitude polyglot. She finds the world more beautiful when seen from a mountain peak, even better if snow-clad. Her actions are meant to preserve snow, and get the chance to see it also in 2050. She establishes partnerships to reach the peak of a sustainable future.

Visit Miriam’s LinkedIn

Administration & Accounting

Giorgio Jaupi

He dreamed of travelling around the world on a regional train. He is convinced that reforesting without being conscious on why and how to do it is mere gardening. He seeks solutions to climate change that have people as their main focus!

Visit Giorgio’s LinkedIn

Forestry & Carbon Manager

Guido Cencini

Passionate about plants, nature and its dynamics, many of which have yet to be discovered. He believes that mitigating the effects of the climate crisis must come through a true green revolution.

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Head of Carbon & Operations

Cecilia Monari

Always on the go, she had to give up her steam locomotive for a more eco-friendly vehicle. She loves field action and believes that only an ecosystem-based approach can lead to long-lasting change. Her idea of sustainability is as circular as the wheels of her bike.

Visit Cecilia’s LinkedIn

Marketing Growth & Data manager

Camilla Eletti

Doubtful from the cradle, she wondered if growing up was a good idea. She was forced to do so and now she seeks answers to her doubts on excel. The solution to the eco-anxiety accumulated over the years? Cats, wine and planting trees. She uses sarcasm as a defence mechanism.

Visit Camilla’s LinkedIn

Business Innovation & Carbon Strategist

Paolo Caprarelli

He lives under the desperate illusion that the days last 30 hours. He thinks life is a giant puzzle game and that there is always a solution hidden somewhere. Social spirit, not only with humans: he loves to converse with dogs in the street and embarrass those around him for it.

Visit Paolo’s LinkedIn

Tree-nurseryman

José Manuel Colón Zarceño

With his head in the future, and hands in the present. He sees nuances of green with the eyes of someone who has read many books full of leaves and Latin names. The secret of his determination? Where people see only a seed, he sees a plant.

Head of Marketing Strategy

Chiara Ramozzi

The first time she heard about sustainability it was in high school, and that’s when it became her mission. Since the beginning of her professional life, she tried to graft it even into the most difficult businesses thanks to her marketing skills and fueled by her enthousiasm. She believes that change can come from everywhere, you just need to harvest it with care.

Go to Chiara’s LinkedIn

Digital Communication Strategist

Amedeo Cavalleri

He believes that stories shared behind a screen can truly bring about change. To him, history provides insights to understand where we come from and where we are headed. This is key when dreaming of a more sustainable future.

Go to Amedeo’s LinkedIn

Technical Assistance Coordinator

Walter Aguilar

Motivation and group work are his daily fuel.
Step by step, he aims at reaching one goal: environmental conservation.

Sustainability, Events & partnerships Manager

Emilia Piochi

A lover of wind and sea, constantly searching for balance in the waves. A healthy proponent of a minimalist lifestyle in contact with nature, she finds her centre by exploring new horizons. Curiosity is her credo, both in cultural and environmental issues.

Visit Emilia’s LinkedIn

Operation & Forestry Specialist

Ignacio Auger

An idealist, he believes that a little more utopia is needed to keep walking. Fascinated by the interconnections between nature and society, and different cultures and perspectives. His aim is to restore these conncetions and keep creating new ones.

Visit Ignacio’s LinkedIn

Communication Specialist

Alice Spada

She loves putting together the pieces of sentences, languages, images and life. She believes that people and communication are the glue to hold them together from one side of the world to the other. She tells and simplifies mosaics of sustainability, as varied as solutions to climate change are.

Visit Alice’s LinkedIn

Graphic Designer

Elena Sofia Carnassale

A lover of foreign cultures and historical traditions, she draws inspiration from the past to illustrate the present. Reading under a tree is the freshness she needs to translate ideas into captivating visual content.

Visit Elena Sofia’s LinkedIn

Production Manager

Darwin Eladio Morán Monterrozo

He lives his life with energy and lightness. Trees are like his old friends to him, and sprouts like younger brothers. Between shyness and reliability, you can give him one seed and he will turn it into a project.

Nursery technician

Anival Castillo

Community research and logistics

Arturo Martínez

Nursery technician

Andrés Cruz

Nursery technician

Manuel Colón

Security specialist

Bamboo

A big-hearted, soft-eyed fly killer. His favourite sport is catching treats on the fly. In his spare time he dreams of doing memorable things… he still hopes to become a tiger!

We are looking for people with zero idleness.

We like pioneers of change, solution-seekers, and professionals who are allergic to injustices. We love those who are willing to do and not just talk. Join our team.

Check out our job openings