The Lagos state environment regulators have lauded Ecobank Nigeria’s various initiatives towards sustainable and safer environment in the state. The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) stated that Ecobank’s deliberate policy to rid the state of non-biodegradable materials like plastic bottles and used beverage cans would go a long way in protecting the environment and promote a cleaner Lagos.
The two agencies pledged their support to the bank for the initiative.
Speaking during the launch of Ecobank ‘Operation 150,000 bottles and cans’ in Lagos recently, a statement quoted the General Manager, LASEPA, Adebola Shabi, to have said the action of Ecobank to ensure a safer environment had further portrayed it as a socially responsible organisation.
Shabi, who was represented by the Chief Scientific Officer, Mrs Sedoten Agosa-Anikwe, said: “This pick and pay’ policy of Ecobank which involves paying people to pick used plastic bottles and cans from Lagos streets would not only empower the unemployed youths but also check the recurring flooding in the state.”
Furthermore, she said, “this is an organisation that is thinking out of the box. A bank that is effectively contributing to the society where it operates. A responsible and caring corporate citizen. We salute Ecobank.”
In the same vein, Assistant General Manager, Special Services Department, LAWMA, Jide Onayiga, called on all corporate stakeholders in Lagos to take emulate Ecobank by partnering the state government to ensure a cleaner Lagos.
He reiterated the determination of the Ambode’s administration to a sustainable environment through the recent signing the Environmental Management and Protection Bill into law.
Earlier in welcome address, Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Ecobank, Mr. Akin Dada, explained that the bank had set aside a sustainability campaign week as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) to give back and ensure a safer community where it operates.
According to Dada, ‘‘Ecobank is a brand that is committed to sustaining the environment for all. This is part of the universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.’
He disclosed that through the weeklong environment week, the Bank renovated and furnished Agbala Pediatric center in Ikorodu; organized symposium competition for secondary school students to debate on ways to sustain the environment and embarked on tree planting in 14 states of the federation, among others.
Also speaking, the Executive Director /Chief Risk Officer, Ecobank Nigeria; Mr. Adebiyi Olagbami, said: “Protection of the environment is very close to our heart in Ecobank. Degrading the environment and planet has become a global challenge. What we are doing as a bank is to make the society and environment nicer much better than we met it.”
