Ant Group Shares How Digital Innovation Supports Environmental Protection at IUCN Event: The Ant Forest Story

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 10, 2025--

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.

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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.

Inspiring Global Partners to Build Their Own “Ant Forest”

Ant Forest’s success has earned global recognition. In 2017, Fortune ranked Ant Financial (now Ant Group) #6 on its “ Change the World ” list for the initiative’s positive environmental impact. Two years later, Ant Forest received the United Nations’ highest environmental honor—the “ UN Champions of the Earth ” award, followed shortly by the “ UN Global Climate Action Award ” for its innovative use of digital technology to scale up climate action.

The model of Ant Forest has inspired similar initiatives worldwide. In 2019, the Philippines’ leading mobile wallet GCash launched GForest, enabling users to contribute to local reforestation through low-carbon lifestyle choices.

At the World Conservation Congress 2025, DANA and Ant International, together with Konservasi International, unveiled the Ocean Buddy initiative, an interactive in-app mini program to raise awareness and drive long-term public participation in marine conservation among DANA's 200 million users in Indonesia. Ocean Buddy leverages gamification incentives and lively visual designs to enhance broad-based, long-term user participation in conservation efforts, specifically the protection of whale sharks along the southern coast of Java.

“With global partners, may our small acts turn into a green future. Tech for good, tech for nature—this is our promise for the future,” said Eric Jing at the event.

About Ant Group

Ant Group is a global digital technology provider and the operator of Alipay, a leading internet services platform in China, connecting over one billion users to more than 10,000 types of consumer services from partners. Through innovative products and solutions powered by AI, blockchain and other technologies, Ant Group supports partners across industries to thrive through digital transformation in an ecosystem for inclusive and sustainable development. For more information, visit www.antgroup.com.

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.

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.

Inspired by Ant Forest, Philippines’ leading mobile wallet GCash launched its own GForest in 2019.

The No. 453 Ant Forest in Inner Mongolia, China, shows a clear contrast before restoration in 2021 (top) and after restoration in 2024 (bottom).

Ant Forest rewards users with virtual “green energy points” for eco-friendly actions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)