Committed to support the Greek State’s long-term initiatives for the protection and reconstruction of the country’s natural wealth threatened by climate change, Eurobank is implementing a comprehensive Restoration program for the fire-affected areas in the wider region of Ancient Olympia.
The Bank, having actively participated in the restoration of the same area after the catastrophic fires in 2007, stands again by the local community of Ancient Olympia, a place of strong symbolism and special cultural heritage for Greece and the entire world. The Bank is launching a set of targeted actions towards the reconstruction of the natural environment, provision of support to local producers as well as awareness raising with respect to environmental protection and prevention, especially among younger generations. These actions, focused on Ancient Olympia, are part of the donation Eurobank announced last August, for the sustainable reforestation of burned areas due to the catastrophic fires of 2021.
The Restoration Program for the fire-affected areas in the wider region of Ancient Olympia is organised in four (4) axes:
- Support of fire–affected areas
By donating 20.000 olive trees, Eurobank is participating in the restoration of privately owned olive groves within the Municipality of Ancient Olympia (www.olympia-trees.com). This is an initiative taken by the Western Greece Region, ARETE Fund and non-profit organization ‘International Relations for Culture’, under the overall planning and coordination of Mr. Giannos Grammatidis, Honorary President of Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce. A total of over 150.000 olive trees will be donated to local producers under this initiative. - Afforestation Program
Eurobank is initiating a long-term cooperation with We4All, a non – profit environmental organization with significant experience in restoring fire – affected forest areas. Through this cooperation, more than 15.000 trees will be planted in the wider area of Ancient Olympia and the Prefecture of Ilia, that was recently affected by wildfires. General Division Markets & Treasury, Eurobank, will also support the environmental initiative of We4All, for 2022, for the first time supporting a tree-planting initiative through the distribution of Structured Products. By selecting investment in these products, Eurobank customers will be contributing to tree – planting, strengthening the positive footprint for Greek forests and the natural environment. Tree planting will be carried out under the guidance of the Authorities and specialized scientists, while the reforested areas will be receiving appropriate care for a three – year period to ensure the project’s sustainability. This action is part of the Group's initiatives for environmental protection and its strategic approach towards sustainable development. With the contribution of We4All, additional tree – planting initiatives are planned outside the borders of the Prefecture of Ilia: Eurobank, through its participation in MasterCard’s global initiative ’Priceless Planet Coalition’, is committed to offer a significant number of trees around the world, but also in Greek territory. Their planting will begin shortly. - Implementing educational initiatives for teachers & students
Eurobank, in cooperation with the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature - an organization with 70 years of experience in environmental educational programs, is supporting actions for enhancing the community’s resilience to forest fires through prevention, at Prefecture of Ilia. The actions will be included in an umbrella Program (“Learn about Forests”) approved by the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs for the last 20 years.
The promoted actions are:- Clearing forests for educational purposes, by schools and volunteer groups.
- Training seminars for school teachers in primary and secondary education.
- Actions to inform students and their families about the value and means of prevention, through the production and distribution of audiovisual material.
- Voluntary tree – planting by Eurobank employees
Voluntary groups of Eurobank employees’ will participate in a tree – planting action in the wider region of Ancient Olympia planned to take place during the 2nd planting period of 2022, with care for the environment and our country’s forests. The TeamUp team of volunteers and WeShare employees charity group will run this action in collaboration with NGO ethelon and the panhellenic voluntary campaign Let's do it Greece, in the context of voluntary reforestation initiative "Roots that unite us”. Similar actions will follow for the restoration of burned areas in Attica and Evia.
The two groups engage a large number of the Bank’s employees, having implemented numerous voluntary initiatives in recent years for the environment as well as other actions of solidarity towards vulnerable groups, institutions, unions and other non-governmental organizations._