Staff Reporter, Dhaka : To commemorate World Nature Conservation Day, Grameenphone, as a responsible corporate citizen, has recently taken an exemplary initiative to create awareness about the utmost importance of preserving nature and its resources. The Nature and Society Club of Grameenphone has organized a two-day tree fair, which comprises a session titled ‘Fostering a Green & Sustainable Environment’ with renowned media personality and agriculture development activist Shykh Seraj and a tree plantation program for its employees, aligning with its sustainability motto – promoting actions within and outside the organization to tackle climate change impacts.
Carbon emission has become a serious global crisis in this era of globalization. Thus, Grameenphone has been working on various initiatives to reduce carbon footprint across its operations. The company believes now is the time to consider urban agriculture, including rooftop gardening, as a part of the climate solutions.
The session was held at GP House premises in the capital and witnessed the exuberance presence of Grameenphone employees, where Shykh Seraj underscored the need to put emphasis on gardening practices and the significance of tree plantation for fostering a sustainable environment, resonating with Grameenphone’s beliefs. He also shed light on different sustainable practices, such as gardening in urban spaces (balcony spaces, rooftop gardening), which could have significant impacts on individual well-being and the environment.
Grameenphone always puts the environment and its related issues at the core of its strategic focus and remains committed to doing business in a responsible way, creating value for all the stakeholders and society, as well as empowering and sustaining the nation for future generations through upskilling and building digital resilience. In its continuation, Grameenphone has adopted an Environment Management System (EMS) to streamline its operations and reduce 50% of its own carbon emissions (CO2) by 2030, taking 2019 as the baseline. The company has also deployed 1200 towers supported by solar panels in remote corners of the country to minimize the digital divide by connecting the unconnected.
“Thanks to technological advancement, young generations can now engage with agriculture and urban agriculture” said Shykh Seraj, a journalist working for four and a half decades to promote farmers. He also expressed his hope that agricultural productivity will increase multiple times in the future. He shared, “You have a mobile phone and you are connected to IoT. You will get notifications about whether your plants need water or not. You can simply do this with the use of technology. We are developing day by day, and now we are now focusing on agriculture. New technologies are being emerged – such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, etc. If these technologies are incorporated into agriculture, our agriculture ecosystem will take a huge leap forward and beyond, and undoubtedly, productivity will increase manifold. It is crucial for all of us to work on these issues.”
Syed Tanvir Husain, Chief Human Resources Officer of Grameenphone, said, “We believe that it’s not practically possible to develop Smart Citizen unless people learn to make smart choices that will help conserve our nature. Keeping that in mind, as we believe the time is now, Grameenphone has adopted different climate initiatives for conducting its own operations in a sustainable way along with creating awareness. At the same time, we aim to make the planet more livable for the next generations, empower them with knowledge, and make them digitally resilient. If we want to gift something to the next generation, it should be a Safe Planet, A Green Planet. Our session with Shykh Seraj has enlightened us in this regard and provided us a way forward.”
As a reflection of its continuous efforts toward a greener future, going by the commitment to conserve nature, the tree plantation program was held at Ansar Camp, where both Shykh Seraj and Syed Tanvir Husain, Chief Human Resources Officer of Grameenphone, were present to initiate the good work. The ‘Tree Fair’ was held at GP House premises on 2nd and 3rd August. Internal employees got the chance to select from an array of options – from ornamental plants to fruit-bearing trees – offered by BRAC Nursey and Foysal Nursery.