By Deborah Asantewaah SARFO
Société Générale Ghana (SG Ghana) has demonstrated its commitment to environmental conservation through a tree-planting exercise undertaken in collaboration with students from Accra High School. This initiative aligns with the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development strategy, which is consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically goal 13 on climate action and goal 15 on life and land.
The exercise involved active participation by SG Ghana’s management and staff who, together with students, planted about 50 trees – including mango, coconut, palm and mimusops – behind the school’s Science Block and other selected areas.
In his remarks, Managing Director – SG Ghana, Hakim Ouzzani, emphasised the stark reality that human activities and urban expansion have drastically reduced the total number of trees on the planet from 6,000 billion to 3,000 billion.
According to him, the current estimated number of trees is insufficient; and as the current global population increases at a fast pace, it might take only a few decades for the remaining trees to go extinct.
“Currently, the number of trees is estimated at 3,000 billion and we have over 7 billion human beings. You can imagine how many trees exist on the planet. The reality is that this number is not enough. Every year, the planet loses around 3 billion trees from the forest because of deforestation, agriculture, extension of our cities and the needs of human beings,” he noted.
Considering the dire implications of a world with fewer trees, Mr. Ouzzani reiterated the significance of tree-planting, urging students to take responsibility for the environment.
“We do not need one thousand more years to lose all we have. If we don’t pay attention, all will be extinct. So, your responsibility is important. I think that you should never underestimate the positive impact of planting one tree or anything that you can do to make the planet happy with us or our actions,” he advised.
For his part, SDG Representative from the Office of the President, Nana Yaw Amirika, urged students to take tree-planting as a hobby and not wait for yearly exercises to participate.
The Assistant Headmistress of Academics at Accra High School, Monica Botchway Gbogbo, expressed the school’s gratitude to the bank for their collaboration in supporting the national agenda of the Green Ghana programme and called for a continued partnership.
SG Ghana also donated three dustbins and some gardening tools – such as hand trowels, watering cans and garden forks – to the school to assist them in maintenance and upkeep of the newly-planted trees.
