The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Foundation Ltd/Gte planted 70 economic trees inside the premises of the Federal Government Girls College, Benin, Edo State, on Wednesday as part of the effort to commemorate World Environment Day 2024.
This year’s celebration has a theme of “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.”.
Speaking during the tree planting ceremony, the Managing Director of the NNPC Foundation, Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe, said the Foundation’s mission was to support environmental sustainability through impactful initiatives such as reforestation, conservation, and education.
Arukwe, who was represented by Mrs Goodnews Willie, Deputy Manager, Education and Health Care Programmes, said that NNPC Ltd. was passionate about executing positive and impactful corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in the country.
She noted that World Environment Day was a global platform to raise awareness about environmental issues and foster action for sustainable development.
“As a recently transited private company, NNPC Ltd is positioned to align with global best practices in the Energy industry and is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“NNPC Foundation was established as the social arm of NNPC Ltd. to be the connection between the stakeholders, who are over 200 million Nigerians, and the company through the execution of impactful CSR initiatives.
“One of the key focus areas of NNPC Foundation is to undertake impactful initiatives on the Environment, and in commemoration of World Environment Day
“We have lined up strategic programmes such as tree planting campaigns in schools and quiz competitions to sensitise the citizenry on environmental preservation.
“According to the UN Convention, about 40% of the world’s land is degraded and is directly impacting half of the global population, threatening economies, ” She said.
She, therefore, called for collective affirmative action to take responsibility for the survival of our immediate environment, which will bring about positive spiral effects on the global habitat.
Speaking earlier, the principal of the school, Mrs Aghedo Osariemen, commended the management of NNPC Ltd./Gte Foundation for choosing the school as one of its locations for the tree planting campaign initiative.
The high point of the event was a panel session by the students, who discussed the importance of tree planting in society.
The students also engaged in drama presentations as well as cultural displays depicting the cultural heritage of Edo, Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups.
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