Olive tree seedlings: A True Sustainability Story

I will share with you my company's (Philip Morris International - PMI) contribution to sustainability, nature, and the environment through two photos with two olive trees and two people. This is my story, but I am sure many Philip Morris Turkey employees have similar stories to mine. Our company does not only lead our sustainability journey today with its environmental awareness, but this approach was also like this yesterday, and it will continue to be so in the future with our commitment and dedication.

I was working for PhilSA in 2014, the year that I became a father, and that summer all employees were given one olive tree seedling. One of my friends had not had the opportunity to plant, so he handed over his seedling to me as well. I went home with two seedlings in the service bus and looked after them on the balcony until the end of the week, and at the weekend I planted them in the garden of our summer house in Seferihisar, district of Izmir. The seedlings that I gave the life water to, dreaming of getting olives in the future, hugged the soil and life tightly, loved their place, started to rise, and get stronger.

Those two seedlings I planted side by side turned 2 years old with my son when the dates showed 2016. It made me very happy to see them grow up together, to meet my son Okan's love of nature, to see him help me while watering the trees, and to develop environmental awareness. Besides, I was so proud; the company I worked for was contributing to nature and I was seeing the positive effects of this. Additionally, another gift from Philip Morris Turkey, a walnut tree seedling came in front of our olive trees that summer, and this time I started to imagine if it would give walnuts in the future. That summer, my son and I had a souvenir photo taken in front of our trees.

In the summer of 2021, when we were burning inside due to the fires in our country, we once again remembered the value of what we have while doing our part in the reforestation of the damaged areas. That's why my son and I took a pose in front of our olive trees, who turned 7 this year. While my son was growing up with our trees, I felt that our future was much more sustainable and secure with individuals who are environmentally conscious and have developed love of trees and forests.

And once again I said, “I'm glad I'm a PMI employee”. While my company always uses resources in the best way for nature-friendly, environmentally friendly, and sustainable, it also includes its employees, whom it considers as its stakeholders, in these policies and enables us to walk towards the goal “together”. That's why, as a PMI employee, I'm on the sustainability journey of my environmentally conscious company, and I'm ready to support this journey to add value.