By Benjamin A. Commey
Agomeda (GAR), June 11, GNA – Ms Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, Corporate Relations Director for Guinness Ghana, has urged Ghanaians to be deliberate in tackling issues of climate change to reduce its impact on human life.
She said climate change was not a fuzz, and that it required deliberate efforts to address it.
Ms Owusu-Ankomah said this during a tree planting exercise organised by Guinness Ghana Brewery under its Johnnie Walker brand at Chipa Forest in Agomeda in the Greater Accra Region.
More than 1,200 trees, including Mahogany, Acacia and Rain Trees, were planted by the management members and staff of the Company to support the restoration of the depleted Chipa Forest Reserve.
The forest, located at Agomeda in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region, has been depleted due to human activities over the years.
Ms Owusu-Ankomah said over the years, the Company had initiated a number of projects with the aim of protecting the environment and ensuring its sustainability.
She said in 2020, the Company launched what it called the “Spirit of Progress Society 2030,” with the core objective of ensuring a sustainable planet for all.
Ms Owusu-Ankomah said embarking on the tree planting exercise, therefore, formed part of the Company’s effort to protect the environment and ensure its sustainable.
“As an organisation, Guinness Ghana is focusing on ensuring that we have a business that is thriving, but more importantly, that our consumers, our customers and the communities in which we operate in are equally thriving,” she added.
She also indicated that the team had put in place a plan to ensure that the exercise was annual.
“It’s not a one off activity but also something that we will amplify within our organisation, to our partners, to our suppliers and all the people we work with to ensure that we continue doing this,” she said.
The Government, in 2021, launched the Green Ghana Day project under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resource and the Forestry Commission, as part of efforts to restore the country’s depleted forest reserves.
More than 25 million trees have been planted since, with 10 million more expected to be planted this year.
The theme for this year Green Ghana Day was: “Our Forests, Our Health”.
Ms Estella Muzito, Marketing and Innovation Director, Guinness Ghana Brewery, said conservation and sustainability were at the heart of everything the brand undertook.
As a result, she said, protection of forest reserves and the sustainability of the environment, remained important to the Company.
Last year, she said, the Company made a decision globally to start reducing some of its packaging with boxes, which were products of trees.
This forms part of the company’s “Step Out of the Box” initiative.
“You know very well that the boxes that we package some of our brands have to come from trees and we felt that, one of the first steps to really reducing our carbon footprint was to start rethinking our packaging.
“And so, if you buy our product now, in a carton, it is without that outer box,” Ms Muzito added.
Mr Kwame Agyei, Manager, Plantations Department, Forest Services Division, Forestry Commission, said one major causes of depletion of the Chipa Forest Reserve was wild fire, especially during the dry season.
He said to minimise that and ensure protection of the seedlings, the Commission had put in place a regular monitoring team.
He entreated Ghanaians to assist in the protection and care for the trees planted and the forests as a whole to ensure the realisation of the Green Ghana agenda.
Johnnie Walker is a Scotch Whisky brand (IWSR 2020) enjoyed in over 180 countries around the world.
GNA