By Antynet Ford
Pwani Oil Products Limited has teamed up with the Kenya Forest Service and the Kilifi County government to plant 1,000 trees at the Msumarini Primary School in Kilifi County to mark the International Day of the Forest 2024 under the theme “Forests and innovation”.
An additional 4,000 seedlings have been set aside for planting at the Msumarini Primary School and neighbouring Kikambala Star Primary School, during the onset of the heavy rains, usually March – May.
This brings to 179,000, the total number of trees (including 120,000 mangroves) in Kilifi County, whose planting has been supported by Pwani Oil since 2019.
The initiative was part of Pwani Oil’s 2024 sustainability agenda and commitment to participate in Kenya’s vision 2030 on climate change mitigation actions and Forest Restoration.
The exercise brought together local community members, including the Kikambala youth committee, village elders, the county government and officials of the local administrative area.
Kilifi County was named as one of the counties with the highest forest cover in the country, standing at 26.25% Vs 7% national forest cover (Nation Africa, 29th July 2022).
“At Pwani Oil, we have set sustainability goals; the tree planting exercise today demonstrates our commitment towards Forest Restoration and contribution to the national agenda on climate change mitigation actions and the Vision 2030’’, Said Rajul Malde, Commercial Director at Pwani Oil.
“We are also keen on passing the conservation message to the younger generations and that is why we deliberately chose to conduct this tree planting exercise at a local primary school, ensuring that we reach as many young people as possible.”
As a responsible corporate citizen, Pwani Oil has been keen on environmental sustainability through initiatives that promote forest restoration, water conservation and energy management.
In addition to optimizing its processes for water conservation, the company installed a water treatment facility at its liquid detergent plant, enabling water recycling and conservation.
This plant is supported by rainwater catchers that are fitted with water purifiers to help replenish its fresh water supply.
Meanwhile, to manage its energy consumption, the company has installed solar and power plants across its facilities, generating 1.5megawatts of solar power and 1.4 megawatts of steam turbine-generated power.