Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has offered to sponsor the re-forestation of the degraded 125-acre Southern Scape Forest at Mpraeso in the Eastern Region.
In addition, the bank has launched an initiative to plant 60,000 tree seedlings as part of this year's Green Ghana Day programme.
Dubbed 'CBG 60,000 Tree Planting Initiative', the theme "Growing for a Greener Ghana Tomorrow: CBG's Commitment," are the two initiatives being done in collaboration with the Forestry Commission.
This year's Green Ghana Day scheduled for June 7, 2024 is on the theme "Growing for a Greener Tomorrow", and the target is to plant 10 million tree seedlings.
Speaking at the launch in Accra yesterday, the Managing Director, Daniel Addo, said trees played critical roles in addressing the challenges of the environment - absorbing carbon dioxide, producing oxygen, preventing soil erosion and providing habitats for countless species of plants and animals.
He said the Sustainable Development Goals set forth by the United Nations provide a clear roadmap for achieving a more sustainable future, and goal 15 specifically called for the need to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss.
"As CBG, we recognise that we have a responsibility to be stewards of the environment. That is why we are proud to launch this tree-planting initiative, which aligns directly with our commitment to supporting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Ghana's Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement," Mr Addo stated.
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By coming together to plant these tree, we are not only beautifying the environment, but taking action to address the current pressing environmental challenges, saying, "This is part of our holistic approach to sustainability, to reduce our carbon footprint, increase our use of renewable energy, and promote sustainable practices throughout our operations."
The Head of Sustainability at the Bank of Ghana, Mr Stephen Armah, who delivered the keynote address, lauded the CBG for the initiative to plant tree seedlings to sustain the environment.
He said CBG had done well in implanting the Ghana Sustainability Banking Principles (GSBP) and had achieved about 62 per cent of the implementation of the principles of the GSBP and the bank was ranked seven of eight banks which were implementing the GSBP.
Mr Armah said CBG had done several training for its staff and senior management personnel on the GSBP and entreated other banks to emulate the initiative of CBG.
The Executive Director of the Forest Services Division of the Forestry commission, Mr Hugh C. A Brown, said forests provided crucial ecosystem services for human wellbeing, sustainable development and ultimately sustain life on earth.
He said since the Green Ghana Day, about 42 million tree seedlings had been planted and since 2016 about 139,000 hectares of forest had been developed.
Mr Brown commended CBG for the initiative to partner the Forestry Commission to plant 60,000 tree seedlings as part of this year's Green Ghana Day.
