Sterling Bank commits N500m to environmental sustainability
Sterling Bank Plc has committed over N500m to various activities under the Sterling Environmental Make-Over in the last five years, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Yemi Adeola, has said.
STEM is one of the bank’s social responsibility initiatives. It is meant to reduce the effects of the environment on the health of Nigerians.
Activities under the STEM initiative include partnership with agencies responsible for waste management in 14 states of the country, tree planting and the national cleaning exercise.
In a statement on Sunday, Adeola was quoted to have said this in Lagos on Friday.
The CEO explained that the bank decided to collaborate with celebrities to connect with their audiences.
‘Many of them have become inspirational figures to a lot of people’, the statement quoted him to have said.
Adeola noted that the partnership with Funke Akindele-Bello at the Oyingbo cleaning exercise was informed by her unique character and passion for promoting cleanliness and a sustainable environment.
“Getting her on board was very apt because she believes strongly in what we are doing, and what we stand for,” he added.
The statement quoted the MD as saying, “The STEM is an initiative which started eight years ago, and essentially covers all the programmes which Sterling Bank runs geared towards caring for our environment. So far, about half a billion naira has been invested in this initiative.
“When STEM started, the primary focus was the kitting of highway managers and sweepers in the employment of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency. Asides Lagos, we have extended this partnership to 14 other states in the country. We give 25,000 units of the uniforms to the LAWMA on a yearly basis. This has been beneficial to sweepers, as the reflective uniforms are seen from a distance by motorists and gives a sense of identity to the sweepers and highway managers.”
Beyond provision of uniforms, staff members of the bank, as part of our employee volunteer programme, regularly participate in nationwide street cleaning efforts.
The lender has also invested in tree planting to address the challenge of desertification in the country, according to the statement.
“We started our tree planting efforts in 2016 with Bauchi, Gombe and Plateau States. We intend to extend this to at least seven more states in 2017, with our goal being to lead the movement to promote environmental sustainability in the country,” it added.
“As a responsible corporate citizen of this country, Sterling Bank will strive to continuously demonstrate the value we place on human life and showcasing the dignity in labour,” it added.
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