By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS) has donated three Thousand trees to Konkola Copper mine to supplement on the KCM on going tree planting exercise aimed at fighting climate change.
ZNBS Managing Director Theresa Mutesa said that the institution recently implemented the Environment, Social, And Governance (ESG) framework to manage risks and opportunities related to environmental, social, and governance issues.
Ms Mutesa said ZNBS intends to mitigate climate change effects through investment and promotion in sustainable waste management practices, tree planting, biodiversity conservation, environmental education, research and use of eco-friendly practices in housing development and business operations.
She said ZNBS has enjoyed a strong relationship with Chingola district and KCM as evidenced in the opening of the refurbished ZNBS Chingola branch in 2021 that improved customer experience and support of KCM employees.
“The trees form an initial step of collaboration between ZNBS and KCM to be part of the sustainable success in ensuring the preservation of the environment and continued support to the nation,” she said.
And Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Acting Chief Executive Officer Enock Mponda thanked ZNBS for donating 3000 seedlings to KCM which will be planted in three areas Kitwe, Chingola and Chililabombwe.
Mr Mponda ZNBS has been it financial partner for a long time and last year the two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding which allows employees to access various products from the bank.
“We understand the impact mining has on the environment and had taken care to in place a measure that will mitigate any negative effects that may arise from our extraction activities, and under this initiative, KCM has planted over 132,000 trees since 2010,” he said.
The CEO said deforestation continues to be a major challenge in the country People have continued to cut down trees for various activities, chief among them agriculture and energy purposes.
He called on everyone to join in the fight against climate change and its devastating effect by Planting a tree to contribute to the health of the planet.
