Ant Forest rewards users with virtual “green energy points” for eco-friendly actions.
The No. 453 Ant Forest in Inner Mongolia, China, shows a clear contrast before restoration in 2021 (top) and after restoration in 2024 (bottom).
Inspired by Ant Forest, Philippines’ leading mobile wallet GCash launched its own GForest in 2019.
From left to right: Sabrina Peng, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Ant Group; Vince Iswara, CEO and Co-Founder of DANA Indonesia; Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder and Chair of Mission Blue; and Eric Jing, Chairman of Ant Group, at the launch of Ocean Buddy during the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
In 2025, DANA and Ant International, together with Konservasi International, unveiled the Ocean Buddy initiative to raise awareness and drive long-term public participation in marine conservation in Indonesia.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, October 10, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–By harnessing the power of digital platforms and engaging users in fun, interactive, and efficient ways, the Ant Forest model can inspire hundreds of millions of people to raise environmental awareness and take meaningful climate actions, said Eric Jing, Chairman of Ant Group, at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
The Ant Forest Model: Turning “Points” into Real-World Impact
Jing shared the story of Alipay Ant Forest, a green initiative that empowers the general public to take part in environmental protection through simple, daily low-carbon actions.
Launched in 2016 within the Alipay app, Ant Forest rewards users with virtual “green energy points” for eco-friendly actions such as cycling to work, using public transportation, or recycling. These points are then translated into tangible outcomes: Ant Group funds real-world tree planting, biodiversity conservation, and habitat restoration projects in partnership with NGOs and environmental organizations.
For example, users can redeem their points to support wildlife preservation or grow virtual trees that are later planted as real trees in reforestation areas.
As of August 2025, more than 750 million users across China have joined Ant Forest. Together, they helped plant 619 million trees. The project also created jobs for local communities who help plant and care for the forests.
An Open Platform: Expanding the Circle of Impact
Ant Forest continues to evolve as an open platform, inviting partners to use “green energy points” to encourage green actions among their customers.
One notable example is Nike’s “Recycle-A-Shoe” mini program, launched in the Alipay app in 2022. The program enables Chinese consumers to send in worn-out Nike shoes for recycling. The collected shoes are dismantled and repurposed into sustainable sports courts using Nike Grind technology. Participants also earn Ant Forest points, which they can use to support tree planting and ecological restoration. As of October 2025, Nike has recycled 430,000 pairs of shoes, helping to create 50 Nike Grind sports courts across China.
During the event, Sabrina Peng, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Ant Group, shared that Ant Forest is also using interactive digital experiences to inspire people to learn about biodiversity. In 2021, Ant Forest launched the Amazing Species project to raise public awareness of biodiversity conservation by allowing users to discover new rare species on their phones through a fun card-collecting experience. In 2024, Ant Forest and IUCN jointly released the Red List of Amazing Species at UNFCCC COP 29. By highlighting endangered species from the IUCN Red List on Ant Forest, the initiative raised public awareness and inspired action to protect them.