NCBA Group, in collaboration with Boreka Group and Kitui County,on Saturday planted 40,000 seedlings as part of its commitment to conserve the environment under the “Change the Story” initiative, which aims to plant 10 million trees by the year 2030.

The tree planting exercise was carried out with the involvement of the community in order to encourage the active participation of farmers in sustainable agriculture. NCBA’s ultimate aim through its “Change the Story” platform is to minimize its direct impact on the climate by conserving the environment therefore reducing its emissions.

“Climate action is everyone’s responsibility, given the precarious situation we find ourselves in. The public and private sectors must work together to mitigate the effects of climate change. One of the areas we can do something about immediately is planting trees, even as we work towards policies and procedures that will further eradicate deforestation,” said John Gachora, Group Managing Director, NCBA Group.

NCBA has planted 300,000 trees this year in addition to the 200,000 trees planted in Kieni, Kibiko forest, golf courses and various institutions across the country in the past years. Since 2018, NCBA in partnership with various organizations has planted 7 million trees around the country.

“We are grateful to the national and county governments for the support they have given us. We appreciate their recognition of the place of environmental conservation in economic and social development,” added Mr. Gachora.

“We welcome NCBA here today as they are augmenting the climate action initiatives we already have in place. Our county is prone to droughts and we want to change that through partnerships like these which will ensure that in the long term, we are food secure and our people never lack water,” said H.E, Julius Malombe, Governor, Kitui County.

NCBA Group is exploring green and sustainable financing to enhance its clean energy approach as well as investing in Electric Vehicles to reduce emissions by 50%. The bank recently secured a solar financing facility worth KES 500 million for businesses.