API & Automation Overview

Learn what Ecologi’s API does, the integration options available, and which is best for your business.

API & Automation Overview

What is an API? 

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a way for two different systems to communicate automatically.

Think of it like a digital waiter: you place your order, it passes the request to the kitchen (another system), and then brings back the result.

In Ecologi’s case, our API lets your systems trigger climate action - for example, planting a tree - without you needing to log in to your Ecologi account and do it manually.

Your Automation Options

At Ecologi, there are three ways to automate climate action:

1. Shopify App

• Add tree planting to your Shopify store with no coding.

• Trees are billed through Shopify, directly. The tree planting will be displayed on your Ecologi profile/account.

• Choose from three potential planting 'triggers': per product sold, per order, or based on basket spend.

• Get started: Install our Shopify App.

2. Zapier

• Connect Ecologi with thousands of other apps (e.g. WooCommerce, CRMs, invoicing tools) - no coding needed.

• Versatile triggers provided by the Zapier platform, i.e. plant a tree when an invoice is paid, or when a new CRM record is created.

• Get started: Ecologi integrations on Zapier.

3. Custom API Integration (developer required)

• Full control and flexibility using our public API.

• Requires developer knowledge/capacity to set up and maintain

• Ideal for fully bespoke workflows.
• Get started: Read our public API docs
  
  

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Which automated solution is best for me?

Your choice depends on:

• Your technical skill level or developer access

• The type of impact you want to fund

• Whether you sell on Shopify or another platform

The table below breaks down the best option for each scenario, by goal:

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Setting up

For all automation options, you’ll need:

• An Ecologi account - this is where any planting/impact your API triggers will be visually displayed.

• An API key - once you've created your account, you'll be able to generate API keys here.

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Support boundaries

We can help with:

• Questions about your Ecologi account

• Guidance on generating your API key

• Issues with our API when used correctly

We can’t help with:

• Writing or editing code

• Troubleshooting Shopify, Zapier, or other third-party systems

• Billing questions for third-party platforms

If you’re not confident in setting up an automation yourself, we recommend seeking help from a developer or the third-party platform’s support team.

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FAQ

I want to plant a tree for every purchase

• Shopify store → Install the Ecologi Shopify App. Set your trigger (per order, per product sold, or based on basket spend) to plant one tree per trigger. Every time that trigger occurs in Shopify, the app will send the order data to Ecologi and a tree will be planted automatically.

• Non-Shopify store → Use Zapier. Set up a trigger in your chosen e-commerce platform (e.g. “New Paid Order” in WooCommerce) to plant one tree per trigger. Zapier will send that event to Ecologi, which will plant the tree.

• Custom API → You can build this however you like. A developer can set up your system to send an API request to Ecologi whenever a purchase happens, using your own preferred logic and triggers.

I have no technical/coding resource, and don't want to use Shopify/Zapier
As an alternative to automated planting, customers can instead make manual, bulk tree purchases at any time via the Impact Shop, and use the “funded by” feature to label your tile (e.g. “April Orders”) for sharing with multiple customers at a time. Please note that our general 'Tree planting around the world' product, there is currently a minimum purchase of 10 trees at any one time.

Is it possible to choose the specific country/project I fund via my API integration?
Not at this time - API trees and carbon projects are randomly assigned from our global reforestation and carbon project mix.

Can you build a custom API for me?
Unfortunately, we cannot offer guidance or troubleshooting on creating custom builds, beyond the provision of our public API docs - you’ll typically need a developer or technical partner to implement it.

What if I get stuck?

• If the issue is with a correctly-configured Ecologi API, your Ecologi account, or Ecologi-issued billing  to custom API and Zapier customers → contact us via the Chatbot

• If the issue is with Shopify, Zapier, or another third-party platform → contact their support directly (Shopify Help center, Zapier Help center).

I've set up my profile/integration - what does the 'Pending' label on some of my impact tile mean?

If you use Ecologi’s API to fund climate action, any impact created during the month will show as “Pending” until payment for that month has been processed.

This means:

• The impact has been recorded by our system and is already included in your impact totals.

• You can see how much of that total is pending vs paid, by opening the impact total tabs at the top of your profile page.

• The “Pending” impact is not yet marked as paid on your profile, reports, or dashboards.

• Once your payment is processed (usually at the start of the following month), the pending impact will be confirmed and the “Pending” label will be removed.

• All the project details on the tile will remain visible, so you can still share them with your customers before payment is complete.

This change ensures we only confirm impact once it’s been paid for, while still giving you full visibility of everything you’ve funded via the API.