By Chris Agabi
UBA Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc plans to plant one million trees in one year in a deft move to position itself at the forefront of Africa’s green revolution, advocating for climate action and a greener future.
Consequently, the UBA Foundation has embarked on the 2024 Tree Planting Campaign, with the theme: ‘Our Land: Grooming a Greener Future’, and a commitment to plant one million trees across the continent by 2025.
Giving the pledge during this year’s edition of the UBA Foundation Tree Planting for Sustainability Initiative, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, reinforced the bank’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, adding that it goes beyond the core values and focuses on the welfare of our communities and the welfare of this planet.
Speaking while flagging-off the campaign with a symbolic tree planting at the UBA Foundation Garden, Marina Lagos, he said, “We must work to save the planet, and we commit that UBA will plant one million trees across Africa by the end of 2025. Trees provide more than carbon reduction; urban trees can decrease temperature by at least 12 degrees Celsius, significantly lowering the risk of heat-related crises.
“And so, each tree we plant today contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 11. The act of planting a tree is very simple; it is not sophisticated to plant a tree. It doesn’t require so much skill to plant; each and every one of us can plant trees in our homes and our working spaces, because, a healthy environment is where trees are planted.”
The GMD who explained that what Nigeria is currently witnessing in the area of flooding is a consequence of a warming plane, added, “But there is still hope. My little thing is to plant trees. So let your little thing be tree planting, and through that, we save the environment, ourselves, and our children.”
On her part, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta explained that the trees planted represent more than just a symbolic gesture. They are powerful agents of change in our fight against climate change.
“We want to be able to make sure that our children have a safer environment. Most of us grew up where there were trees. These trees are not just for playing; they are actually doing something significant, and we’ve lost that and built blocks around us. We want to go back to healthy living, we want to go back to a safe environment, we want to go back to scenarios where we can breathe cleaner air and where we don’t have any floods, where people are not being displaced from their environment.
Representing the General Manager Lagos State Parks and Garden Agency, Adetoun Popoola, at the event, Mrs Funto Aina, who is LASPARK’s Head Tree Planting and Maintenance, commended UBA Foundation for its drive in planting over one million trees across all its subsidiaries, adding that the initiative compliments government efforts.
She said, “What you are doing here aligns with what Lagos State Government is doing, even your theme aligns with that of Lagos State’s theme which is around nurturing the future through tree planting. We want to commend UBA Foundation and its management for partnering with LASPARK these last couple of years to ensure that the environment is conserved through several initiatives including tree planting and we encourage other corporate organisations to follow suit.”
UBA Foundation, the CSR arm of the UBA Group, is committed to the socio-economic betterment of the communities in which the bank operates, focusing on development in the areas of Education, Environment, Economic Empowerment and Special projects.
