Our Commitment to the Environment

Virtual Sheet Music was born with the idea of offering digital sheet music to the masses since its inception back in 1999. That not only saves trees involved in paper production, but it also excludes the use of chemicals used in both paper production and the press industry. Additionally, that avoids packaging and distribution of physical sheet music, which has a great impact on the environment.

But you may wonder: What if you print digital sheet music off of VSM on real sheets of paper? Isn't that paper consumption anyway? Well, yes, but consider this: First of all, less and less people are printing out sheet music on real paper. Most people nowadays use tablets or other touch-display devices to read sheet music reducing the impact on the environment even more. And the trend is going to continue in that direction. Second, we offset that minimum impact by being carbon negative by a huge margin.

Virtual Sheet Music is committed to helping the environment and plants 10 trees for each new Member who joins our Membership sheet music program. On November 21, 2019, we also started asking for $1 donations on orders of $10 or more, so that we can plant 10 trees for those orders, as well. All this, combined with the use of renewable energy for our facilities and datacenters, makes Virtual Sheet Music 100% carbon negative.

How does this all work? We have partnered with EdenProjects.org and OneTreePlanted.org, the leading worldwide organizations in reforestation and restoration of Earth's natural ecosystems. Every time there is a new Member on Virtual Sheet Music, 10 new trees are planted where trees are needed the most. That includes the Amazon rain forest and the delicate ecosystems of Indonesia, India, and Australia. They also have special programs that restore natural forests in turmoiled regions of Africa and South America, as well as often overlooked natural park areas in North America. By doing this, the local population is also helped economically and socially. A win-win for everyone!

What makes EdenProjects.org and OneTreePlanted.org unique is their planting policy. They don't just randomly plant any tree around the globe. They are focused on restoring the natural forests and their related ecosystems by planting the right trees in the spots where they are most needed. They are also committed to the long-term goal of preserving whatever they sow, making sure that the trees don't get destroyed or chopped down later on. Every planted tree is guaranteed survival for years to come. Restored ecosystems not only help to restore nature and preserve its biodiversity, which we all depend upon, but they also help indigenous populations improve their lives as a guarantee for a better future.

Our commitment is to plant a minimum of 50,000 trees a year, and you can help us by simply joining our Membership sheet music program, or even just by spreading the word about it. If you think that with a single tree you can make around 200 pounds of paper (around 90 kilos), by planting 50,000 trees a year, we offset over 10,000,000 pounds of paper a year, including all related CO2 emissions of producing and distributing paper. Can you imagine how much music you can print on so much paper?

Besides planting trees, our facilities use renewable energy (solar) to power our offices and datacenters. We also use only super-efficient electric vehicles for our operations and Apple computers for our offices (they are the most recyclable and environmentally friendly computers currently on the market), which makes our overall carbon footprint negative.

Hopefully, more people will start doing the same, as well as more businesses like us. We need more people to act. Funding the right causes and the right organizations is the first step to guaranteeing long-term life on our planet. Without life, there would be no humans, and without humans, there would be no music, either. Let's keep both nature and music alive!

Rest assured: this is just a start, and more will come. We plan to increase these kinds of donations in the years to come, and we welcome you to join us in this exciting and positive journey. For now, this is our first, small contribution to improve life on Earth, tackle climate change, and ensure a better future for everyone.