Macerich Celebrates Earth Month With ‘You Pledge We Plant’ Campaign, Industry Recognition

Campaign To Plant 100,000+ Trees to Support Reforestation, Urban Forestry

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Macerich (NYSE: MAC), one of the nation’s leading owners, operators and developers of high-quality retail real estate in top markets, is celebrating Earth Month with its “You Pledge We Plant” campaign to plant more than 100,000 trees across the country.

In partnership with One Tree Planted, Macerich is supporting reforestation and urban forestry efforts, including urban forestry projects in California and New York and post-wildfire restoration in California, Oregon and Colorado. Macerich will also plant trees for Earth Month-related employee volunteer hours in addition to the company’s standard employee benefit of 24 paid volunteer hours per employee per year. In 2023, Macerich’s contributions to One Tree Planted installed more than 50,000 trees.

Urban reforestation is vital to the health of the planet, people, and communities. The need is particularly great in majority non-white neighborhoods, which have 11% less tree canopy and 14% more artificially built surface area, such as asphalt and cement, than majority-white neighborhoods, according to new research. Planting trees where they are most needed could avoid 460 heat-related deaths and 81,000 heat-related illnesses every year and save 4.3 terawatt hours of electricity per year.

As part of the Earth Month effort, shoppers are encouraged to sign a pledge committing to use reusable shopping bags. According to Environment America calculations, last year’s shopper pledge program may have prevented an estimated 22 million plastic bags from entering landfills by generating 71,000 pledges from consumers to always use reusable bags when they shop.

“Macerich’s partnership with One Tree Planted last year was a phenomenal success. Our customers and employees were enthusiastic about this important initiative, which provides cleaner air, reduced risk of floods and landslides, and increased habitat for biodiversity,” said Olivia Bartel Leigh, Executive Vice President, Portfolio Operations and People, Macerich. “This year, we are expanding the program as part of Macerich’s commitment to reducing our upstream and downstream impacts and building a healthier, greener world.”