Driving Sustainability Through Innovation: A Founder’s Journey with Nisreen Shadad
Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Nisreen Shadad, CEO and Co-founder of NetGreen, a sustainability-driven tech company revolutionizing how individuals and businesses contribute to climate action. With a background in technology and a deep commitment to environmental impact, Nisreen has dedicated her career to making sustainability both accessible and engaging. Under her leadership, NetGreen bridges the gap between corporate responsibility and consumer participation, ensuring that every small action leads to measurable change. She is a strong advocate for integrating digital innovation into sustainability efforts, leveraging AI, blockchain, and data-driven solutions to drive meaningful environmental impact.
NetGreen is an innovative climate-tech platform that seamlessly integrates sustainability into everyday transactions. By partnering with retailers, enterprises, and payment systems, NetGreen allows consumers to convert loyalty points into tree planting or make small contributions towards global reforestation projects—with businesses covering the costs. The platform ensures transparency and accountability through AI-powered monitoring, blockchain verification, and geolocation tracking, making environmental contributions verifiable and impactful.
With a vision to expand beyond reforestation, NetGreen aims to become a comprehensive climate-action hub, offering businesses and individuals the ability to support carbon offset projects, ocean restoration, and clean energy initiatives. By making sustainability effortless and rewarding, NetGreen empowers consumers and corporations to collectively drive meaningful change for the planet.
TFS: Nisreen, thank you for joining us. Let’s start with the big question—what inspired you to create NetGreen.Live, and how does it stand out from other climate action initiatives?
Nisreen Shadad: NetGreen was born from the belief that real change happens when we make sustainability effortless and collective. Many individuals and businesses want to contribute to environmental conservation but often don’t know how to start or find the process complicated. We wanted to bridge that gap by making sustainability accessible and engaging.
Our approach is unique because we integrate sustainability into loyalty programs and everyday transactions. Consumers can convert their loyalty points into tree planting at no additional cost, with brands covering the expense. Additionally, we offer a subscription model where users can make small monthly or yearly contributions to continuously support reforestation efforts. This ensures a long-term, lasting impact rather than a one-time action. Unlike traditional initiatives, we focus on transparency, engagement, and measurable results—so people can see and track the real difference they are making.
TFS: Climate action can sometimes feel overwhelming. How does NetGreen make sustainability more accessible for both consumers and businesses?
Nisreen: One of the biggest challenges in sustainability is that it often feels distant and abstract. Many people care about climate change but don’t see how their individual actions can make a real difference. NetGreen addresses this by seamlessly integrating sustainability into everyday habits.
For consumers, we enable them to support climate action in a frictionless way—whether by redeeming their loyalty points for tree planting or making small recurring contributions. They can track their personal impact through digital tree IDs and vouchers, giving them a tangible sense of their contributions.
For businesses, we provide a turnkey solution that aligns sustainability with their brand values and enhances customer engagement. By gamifying the experience and allowing users to share their impact on social media, we turn sustainability into a movement rather than just a responsibility. The more people see their impact, the more motivated they become to continue making a difference.
TFS: If you had to explain NetGreen’s mission to a five-year-old, how would you do it?
TFS: Retailers often focus on revenue and customer engagement. How do you convince them that sustainability is more than just a CSR initiative, that it can actually drive business growth?
Nisreen: Sustainability is no longer just about corporate social responsibility, it’s a powerful business strategy. Today’s consumers are more conscious than ever before. Research shows that 85% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that align with their values, particularly those that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility.
NetGreen helps businesses integrate sustainability in a way that enhances customer loyalty, increases brand trust, and differentiates them from competitors. By participating in climate action, brands can create stronger emotional connections with their customers, leading to increased retention and engagement. Additionally, businesses that incorporate sustainability into their loyalty programs often see higher customer interaction and brand advocacy, driving long-term revenue growth.
TFS: Can you share a success story of a business that has benefited from integrating NetGreen into their loyalty program?
Nisreen: One of our most exciting collaborations has been with RECAPP and RAINBOW. Through this partnership, 5,000 vouchers were redeemed on the RECAPP app, resulting in the planting of 100 mangrove trees at Jubail Mangrove Park.
RAINBOW, a leading brand, proudly sponsors this initiative as part of its sustainability commitment. This collaboration not only strengthened its brand image but also encouraged greater customer participation in climate action. This success story showcases how brands can enhance customer engagement while making a real environmental impact.
TFS: Since launching NetGreen, have you noticed any surprising consumer behavior trends?
Nisreen: Yes! One of the most fascinating trends we’ve seen is how much people enjoy tracking and sharing their impact. Many consumers not only plant trees but also actively follow their growth through our digital tracking system. They take pride in seeing the progress of their trees and love posting about it on social media.
This has created a powerful ripple effect—when people see their friends contributing to sustainability, they feel inspired to do the same. In a way, sustainability has become a status symbol, something people want to showcase as part of their identity. This is a game-changer because it means climate action is shifting from an obligation to an aspiration.
TFS: Transparency is key in sustainability efforts. How does NetGreen ensure accountability in carbon removal and reforestation projects?
Nisreen: Transparency is a crucial part of our model. We work exclusively with verified reforestation projects to ensure that every tree planted contributes to real and measurable carbon capture.
Each tree planted through NetGreen is assigned a unique digital ID, eliminating the risk of double counting. Through our partnership with Verofax, we leverage AI-powered drones, computer vision, geolocation tracking, and blockchain technology to monitor tree growth and carbon sequestration. This ensures complete visibility into where trees are planted, how they are growing, and how much carbon they are absorbing. Our system also aligns with international sustainability standards, including Verra and the UNFCCC CDM, to guarantee compliance and credibility.
TFS: You integrate with both loyalty apps and POS systems. What was the biggest technical challenge in making NetGreen work seamlessly across different platforms?
Nisreen: The biggest challenge was creating a flexible and scalable integration process that wouldn’t disrupt the customer experience. Businesses use different loyalty systems and payment infrastructures, so we had to ensure that NetGreen could work across various platforms without causing friction.
We solved this by developing a robust and adaptable API that enables businesses to integrate NetGreen quickly and easily. Now, companies can implement our solution within 60 days, making sustainability adoption fast and efficient.
TFS: Are you looking to leverage AI or blockchain to enhance your impact further?
Nisreen: Absolutely! AI is helping us optimize tree-planting locations to maximize environmental benefits. By analyzing climate patterns, soil conditions, and biodiversity needs, we can ensure that trees are planted in the most impactful areas.
Blockchain, on the other hand, enhances transparency by securely recording every transaction and preventing any risk of double counting or fraudulent claims. Together, these technologies will help us scale our impact while maintaining accountability.
TFS: Since partnerships are key to NetGreen’s success, what strategies have been most effective in bringing retailers and enterprises on board?
Nisreen: Data is our biggest ally. We present businesses with real-world insights showing how sustainability-driven engagement leads to increased customer loyalty, brand trust, and revenue growth. Once they see the numbers, they realize that NetGreen is not just an environmental initiative but a smart business move.
TFS: Looking ahead, where do you see NetGreen in the next five years? Could your model expand beyond reforestation?
Nisreen: Absolutely! While reforestation remains a core focus, we plan to expand into other carbon offset solutions, such as ocean restoration and clean energy projects. Our long-term vision is to make NetGreen a comprehensive platform for climate action, offering individuals and businesses multiple ways to contribute to sustainability.
TFS: What regions or industries do you think are currently underutilizing the potential of NetGreen, and how do you plan to tap into them?
Nisreen: The hospitality and e-commerce industries are two areas where sustainability integration is still in its early stages but holds immense potential.
We are developing solutions that allow hotels to offer guests the option to offset their stay’s carbon footprint by contributing to reforestation projects. Imagine booking a hotel and knowing that a part of your stay contributes to planting trees—it’s a simple yet powerful way to encourage conscious travel.
In e-commerce, we’re working on embedding NetGreen’s impact model into online shopping platforms, allowing customers to support sustainability initiatives with every purchase. This seamless integration will enable brands to make sustainability an inherent part of the shopping experience, further driving consumer engagement and brand loyalty.
TFS: What’s the most memorable piece of feedback you’ve received from a customer or business using NetGreen?
Nisreen: One piece of feedback that truly resonated with me came from a user who said, “For the first time, I feel like my actions make a real and lasting impact.” That statement perfectly reflects our mission.
TFS: If you could change one misconception about sustainability and business, what would it be?
Nisreen: The biggest misconception is that sustainability is just a cost. In reality, it’s an investment in long-term profitability, customer loyalty, and brand differentiation.
Many businesses hesitate to embrace sustainability because they see it as an expense rather than an opportunity. However, studies consistently show that purpose-driven brands outperform their competitors. When businesses align with sustainability, they not only attract eco-conscious consumers but also improve customer retention, reduce operational risks, and unlock new revenue streams through innovative green products and services.
Sustainability isn’t just about doing good for the planet—it’s a smart business move that future-proofs a company’s success in an evolving, conscious marketplace.
TFS: Finally, what’s one simple action anyone reading this can take today to contribute to the fight against climate change?
Nisreen: Choose sustainable brands, reduce waste, and plant a tree. Even the smallest actions, when multiplied by millions, can create a massive impact. Every effort counts!
TFS: Nisreen, this has been an inspiring conversation. Thank you for sharing your journey and vision for NetGreen!