Ghana: Standard Chartered Bank’s staff volunteer to plant trees to mark Earth Day

A financial services institution in Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank has reiterated its commitment to taking rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions in the next decade.

To mark Earth Day, staff volunteers, led by Jonathan Scott, Chief Operating Officer, Cash Management, Africa & Middle East, Europe, and the Americas planted 500 trees at the Ramsar Site, Sakumono.

The Sakumono Ramsar Site is one of the five designated Ramsar sites in Ghana. It is one of the most important coastal wetlands in Ghana which serve as a habitat for migratory birds and other important wildlife.

The wetland comprises an open lagoon, a flood plain and a freshwater marsh. The brackish water lagoon covers an area of 1 – 3.5 km² depending on the season.

“In the quest to reach net zero, we do not focus only on planting trees but seek to reduce carbon footprints and improve soil health.

Soils with adequate stable organic carbon and nutrients fixed within their ecosystem positively contribute to soil fertility, biodiversity, water retention and more importantly enhances soil carbon sequestration.

These soil conditions will additionally boost the crop yield of local vegetable farmers such as those who cultivate the Ramsar site lands for organic farming.

We have therefore partnered with the Forestry Commission and Sabon Sake, a regenerative agricultural company which is into the sustainable manufacturing of bio-carbon soil solutions.

They do this by turning biomass waste which will otherwise be abandoned and/or openly burnt into organic soil blends rich in stable carbon to enhance degraded soils.

“They provided a biochar blend and other organic soil amendments to be incorporated into the ground to support the planting of the trees,” the bank said.

Biochar as a stable form of carbon has a high potential to tackle climate change by storing (sequestering) carbon in the soil.

Since 2015, we have planted over 6000 trees at the Ramsar Site.