Sustainable Christmas gifts for businesses (that are actually good for the planet!)

Every festive season, businesses around the world spend billions expressing gratitude to their stakeholders through gifts. Inevitably, corporate gifting significantly increases waste and carbon output. For example - in the U.S. alone - packaging waste rises by roughly

25% between Thanksgiving and New Year,

adding over a million extra tonnes of discarded material every week.

However, sustainably-minded businesses are seeking ways to give without creating unnecessary harm to the planet. Instead of defaulting to branded trinkets or bulky boxes, they are using the season to reinforce their values - with gift ideas that restore and regenerate the planet, reduce waste, support local economies, and offer low-carbon alternatives. 

At Earthly, we work closely with hundreds of

conscientious

companies all year round. We're supporting them to connect to nature, reach net zero, and become

regenerative businesses

. Every festive season, we help our customers in choose considered Christmas gifts that strengthen their climate and nature stories. Here's our selection of the best ideas for corporate Christmas gifts that are actually sustainable:

Reforestation and tree planting remain one of the most accessible and transparent nature-based gifts. When done through verified projects, it contributes to carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery, and local employment. On average,

one mature tree absorbs up to 22 kg of CO₂ per year

, and large-scale restoration can sequester up to 6.8 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare annually. Tree-planting through Earthly, means you can track the real impact of every tree funded rom your Earthly Impact Dashboard, giving full transparency into where and how your contribution is making a difference.

Businesses could dedicate a set number of trees on behalf of recipients, for example, 100 mangrove trees planted for every employee. Or, why not connect the gift to milestones? For example, planting 10 trees for every year you have worked together with a customer or partner.

Look for providers, like Earthly, who are able to support your Christmas tree-planting with Gift Certificates to share your positive actions.

Biodiversity credits fund the protection and regeneration of ecosystems like forests, wetlands and grasslands.

Each credit represents a scientifically verified unit of restored or protected biodiversity, backed by third-party data and transparent monitoring.

Biodiversity credits through Earthly

are secured for 30 years, so make a gift with real impact.

Businesses can

purchase biodiversity credits

on behalf of employees, clients, or partners - and present each recipient with a personalised digital certificate showing the ecosystem their gift helped restore.

The process through Earthly is simple:

Offering employees a paid day to volunteer for local conservation, tree-planting, or clean-up projects connects sustainability with purpose. It boosts engagement and well-being while producing tangible environmental benefits.

According to Deloitte,

89% of employees

believe companies that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall work environment, which is a win for company culture and the planet.

Beyond the environmental value, volunteering strengthens the connection between employees and a company’s sustainability mission. It transforms ESG goals from abstract metrics into shared experiences that employees can see and feel. Alternatively, you could encourage employees to volunteer independently, for causes that they find meaningful.

Many businesses now integrate volunteering days into their annual sustainability calendar, using them to highlight impact stories in their reporting and internal communications.

The festive season may be one of giving, but it is also one of eating. Consequently, a nature gift that supports sustainable agriculture feels apt.

Regenerative agriculture

focuses on rebuilding soil health, restoring natural nutrient cycles, and improving biodiversity on farmland. It moves beyond simply reducing harm to actively improving the land through practices like crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, and reduced tillage.

Agroforestry

integrates trees and shrubs into farmland, creating productive landscapes that store carbon, improve soil fertility, and provide habitat for pollinators and wildlife. It’s a nature-based system that balances food production with ecosystem restoration.

Healthier soils hold more carbon and water, leading to more resilient food systems and stronger rural economies. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that scaling these methods could offset

up to 10% of global emissions

.

Supporting regenerative agriculture and agroforestry projects as gifts allows businesses to invest directly in climate-positive farming around the world.

Holiday travel and corporate gatherings generate unavoidable emissions. Instead of giving physical gifts, your company can offset those emissions on behalf of clients, guests or employees.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global carbon emissions from aviation and business travel are expected to rebound to

over 900 million tonnes of CO₂ annually

by 2025, nearing pre-pandemic levels. For many companies, travel can represent up to 25% of their total carbon footprint, making event and travel offsets one of the most direct ways to demonstrate accountability.

Turning offsets into gifts transforms responsibility into appreciation. By calculating and offsetting a client’s travel or a team event's carbon footprint, your business does something positive. Offsetting through nature-based projects means your action also supports cleaner air, restored ecosystems, and improved local economies. It’s a thoughtful way to celebrate connection while contributing to a lower-carbon future.

According to Shopify’s

Black Friday–Cyber Monday report,

merchants reached a record

$9.3 billion in sales in 2023

- a 24% increase from the previous year. That increase in consumer activity during the festive season highlights the influence businesses have during the festive season. Redirecting even a small share of those profits toward verified nature-based projects can turn peak sales into measurable regeneration.

Instead of heavily discounting during Black Friday, responsible businesses are reframing the period as

Green Friday

, where every purchase gives something back to the planet. For example, for each product sold or contract signed, a contribution is made to a verified nature project.

You could communicate this message with customers, sharing the exact project, location, impact and benefits they have helped make happen. This practice turns peak-season sales into measurable regeneration, demonstrating to your customers yours is a sustainable brand, growing responsibly.

Earthly’s gift certificates for nature

are a meaningful way to give back to the planet. Instead of sending physical items, businesses and individuals can support any Earthly project - from tree planting, to biodiversity credits, supporting reforestation and beyond - and receive personalised Christmas gift certificates for their recipients.

Recipients receive a beautifully designed digital certificate that recognises a contribution to nature has been made on their behalf. This can be personalised with a message and logo. Additionally, a note can be added to each nature investment on an Earthly Impact Dashboard to reflect the recipient it was made for.

Every project supported through Earthly as a gift is scientifically verified and transparently tracked, so both the sender and the recipient can see exactly what their gift achieved: carbon removed, habitats restored, and communities supported. It’s a thoughtful, low-waste, low-carbon alternative that connects people directly to measurable environmental impact and positions your brand positively.

A sustainable business gift performs better across its entire lifecycle. Here are some ways to assess whether your corporate gifts are genuinely good for the planet:

A gift only adds value if it’s used. Unwanted items drive waste, and worse, returns. According to Optoro, product returns in the U.S. alone generate

5.8 billion pounds of landfill waste

and emit 16 million metric tons of CO₂ each year. Choosing practical, thoughtful gifts cuts that footprint at the source.

Digital or service-based gifts avoid most of the emissions tied to production and shipping. Physical items should be low-energy to manufacture and distribute efficiently.

Sustainability starts with what a product is made of. Look for recycled or up-cycled inputs, durable construction, and modular or refillable designs that extend lifespan.

Packaging is often the hidden culprit of holiday waste. Choose suppliers using FSC-certified paper and fibre and avoid laminates, foils, or mixed materials that block recycling.

Certifications such as B Corp signal that a business meets high environmental and social standards. These frameworks, managed by B Lab Europe and its global partners, ensure transparency across operations.

Transport is often the largest variable in a gift’s footprint. Sourcing from local vendors or consolidating bulk shipments to one office reduces emissions.

Sometimes, the most sustainable gift is one that restores the planet rather than consumes. Funding verified climate and nature projects, such as forest restoration, biodiversity protection, or carbon removal, creates direct, measurable benefits. 

Unlike physical goods, these gifts leave no waste and generate long-term positive impact. Companies can connect every gift to real, tangible regeneration on the planet through trusted partners like Earthly.

Selecting the right Nature-Based Solutions projects starts with focusing on measurable impact.

High-quality projects

are backed by

verified scientific assessments

and deliver multiple benefits - carbon removal, biodiversity restoration, and community support. 

Look for initiatives that follow recognised standards such as Verra (VCS), Gold Standard, or Plan Vivo, and provide transparent reporting on outcomes like tonnes of CO₂ sequestered, hectares restored, or species protected. Independent verification ensures that your investment contributes to genuine, long-term environmental gains rather than short-term offsets.

Beyond certification, assess each project’s co-benefits and permanence. The most effective gifts regenerate ecosystems that continue to deliver impact over decades. 

Earthly's project assessment,

for example, is agnostic across certification methodologies and global ecosystems - giving you a completely holistic view.

Projects that protect existing carbon sinks like mangroves, peatlands, or rainforests offer particularly high returns for both climate and biodiversity.

Unlike most sustainability initiatives,

nature-based solutions (NbS)

deliver measurable, verified outcomes across three dimensions:

This Christmas, make every

gift

to your company's stakeholders count. 

Talk to us

if you’d like support in choosing the right project or sustainability solution for your business.