Advans Ghana Savings and Loans, a leading savings and loans company, has planted over 1,500 seedlings in Accra and Tamale as part of its corporate social responsibility and commitment to environmental sustainability.

Themed "Greening Ghana: Growing for A Greener Tomorrow," the initiative involved management, staff, clients, volunteers from host communities, and the Forestry Commission.

Together, they planted acacia, teak and shea trees in the Chipa Forest Reserve (Accra) and Zugu Forest Reserve (Tamale) in July 2024.

When fully grown, the trees will be natural filters, absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and improving air quality.

This will help reduce the effects of urban heat islands and floods. As a result, the institution intends to invest in taking care of these trees after planting, aiming to exceed the 90% survival rate achieved in their 2023 tree-planting exercise.

“In recent times, we have all observed and experienced the climate crisis hitting Ghana like many other parts of the world, with significant and sometimes devastating impact for many people. These negative impacts will be even stronger in the years to come and affect our way of living,” said Barbara Odei (Chief Sales Distribution Officer) of Advans Ghana.

She further noted that “Given that our MSMEs and farmer clients are the most vulnerable and will be the most affected by climate change, it is essential for us to integrate its effects and impacts in our core business model. We believe that afforestation goes a long way in creating a positive impact on climate change.”

Justifying the company’s selection of Accra and Tamale for the exercise, Guillaume Valence (Chief Executive Officer) added that “This year, we decided to plant 1,500 tree seedlings in Accra and Tamale as these cities are at high risk in terms of climate change, and we need to be contributing toward building resilience among both clients and the community”.

In addition to the CSR tree-planting exercise, Advans Ghana has embraced eco-friendly practices and invested heavily in initiatives that aim at reducing its carbon footprint, including but not limited to the digitization of most of its operational processes which have seen a significant reduction of paper consumption by the company, thereby saving trees and improving environmental sustainability.

At the Zugu Forest Reserve, Raymond Abaare, Forestry Range Manager for the Tamale Office, commended Advans Ghana for their ongoing support but expressed concern about human activities threatening the trees' survival.

Advans Ghana Savings and Loans Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Advans Group, headquartered in Paris-France with a presence in 9 countries in Africa and Asia and serving more than 1.3 million clients. In Ghana, Advans serves over 130,000 clients.

It currently operates with 19 branches in 8 regions – Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong, Ahafo, Volta, Northern, Central and Eastern – with its target markets mainly being micro, small and medium-scale enterprises, not losing sight of individual clients.