Jun 2010 Financial News

Scotia pumps more than $4.5 million into 'green' projects

Jun 02, 2010

SCOTIABANK is to pump more than $4.5 million into a raft of initiatives geared at protecting and/or revitalising Jamaica's environment.

"Just over $4,658,010 will be invested in projects that are focussed on recycling plastic bottles, reusing or the repurposing of newspaper and other paper products, the replanting of green areas in schools and coastal clean-ups across the island," the bank said in a release to Environment Watch.

The investment in the environmentally friendly initiatives forms a part of Scotiabank's "Going Green" campaign, which will see the bank forging partnerships with entities, including the Protect the Environment Trust (PET), the University of the West Indies Centre for Environmental Management and the National Youth Help Project.

On Labour Day 2010, more than 600 Scotia volunteers undertook tree planting, the establishment of vegetable and flower gardens and other environment re-generative activities in schools, hospitals, children's homes, and at community roundabouts across the island.

"The tree planting element of the Scotiabank's "Going Green" initiative is being supported by the Forestry Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, which will be providing seedlings that the bank will be distributing to environment clubs in primary schools," the bank said in the release.

At the launch of the campaign on May 18, several school environmental clubs received seedlings from the bank to be planted on Labour Day Monday.

"The Scotia volunteers will be partnering with the different environment clubs to maintain the green areas through periodic visits and work days. They will also be hosting "green" seminars and making presentations to the students on understanding and caring for the plants under their watch. Following their Labour Day activities Scotia Volunteers will also be undertaking coastal clean-up projects, along with the management of public green spaces in town centres," the bank said.

The second phase of the campaign will be carried at the UWI Mona campus, where the bank has funded the construction of five large skips which store plastic bottles collected for recycling from the various residential halls and other food areas on the institution. Since the plastic bottle recycling project began at the UWI, more than 20,000 pounds of bottles have been collected and shipped.

The plastic bottles collected at the Mona campus are then sorted, cleaned and packaged by PET for export to the United States. Scotiabank has also partnered with PET in the acquisition of a garbage collection truck that aids in the collection of plastic from residential communities in Kingston and St Andrew.

"Scotiabank is already known as a responsible corporate citizen and we have been involved in several green initiatives before. However, our decision to conceptualise and organise a structured going green initiative is a natural step in the right direction," said Joylene Griffiths Irving, director of public, corporate and government affairs at Scotiabank.

"We are aware of the daily damage that we all inflict as humans on our environment through our everyday activities. We want to play an active part in helping to limit these effects and, in some cases, try to reverse what has already happened. We also want to take it further by educating and encouraging our customers, neighbours and the larger community to get active in this regard," she added.

The third element of the campaign, which is being executed in partnership with the National Youth Help Project, will see the bank supporting unattached youth from various communities in the development of a new environmental income-generating enterprise.

"This will see them collecting newspaper, used office paper and other paper products to be sold to a local cottage industry which will export them. The project, which will be introduced in phases, will begin in Kingston and St Andrew with the main focus on businesses in the New Kingston and downtown areas, after which a campaign will be launched for residential collection. Young men from various communities will be trained and employed to work as collection assistants and liaison officers," the release said.


Source:
Jamaica Observer
Wednesday June 02, 2010

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Scotia-pumps-more-than--4-5-million-into--green--projects_7644808