Grameenphone employees observe Green Week 2022

Grameenphone employees have observed “Grameenphone Green Week 2022” from 16 to 19 May 2022 with the sincere objective to accept the ‘Green Pledge’ and address environmental sustainability through every possible course of action in daily lives through the Three Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

The focus of the Green Week was to help employees understand how artificial activities influence the planet and its long-term impacts on the environment and to encourage them to adopt an eco-friendlier lifestyle.

Bangladesh, home to 167 million people, is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Adverse effects of climate change will have profound repercussions on the economy and development of the country. Grameenphone, along with Telenor, has stepped up to address the impacts of environmental degradation. The Green Week kicked off with the tree plantation by Cecilie Heuch, EVP Chief People and Sustainability Officer, Telenor; Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone, and Syed Tanvir Husain, CHRO, Grameenphone, with the belief that it’s high time for every individual to play our part in raising awareness, act responsibly and influence the world for ecosystem restoration.

Yasir Azman pointed out the importance of collaborative efforts for green development, saying – “It has been estimated that by 2050, one in every seven people in Bangladesh will be displaced by climate change. We frequently overlook certain environmental and climate-damaging activities that can significantly have negative impact on our ecosystems and global health if they remain unresolved. With the advent of digitalisation, we see more and more electronic devices being released, more energy being consumed, and more data being exchanged. We need to bring more efficiency to these processes and be wary of our energy consumption. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something – together, we can change the world. We have initiated Green Week to increase environmental awareness. Let this Green Week inspire everyone to raise their awareness of behaviours that lead to more sustainable daily practices.

At Grameenphone, we have been coming up with green plans, partnering with some stakeholders to initiate dialogues and pick up activities to generate better environmental awareness in society. Raising awareness, innovation through low carbon technologies to create an inclusive and genuinely comprehensive mitigation scheme and unitedly increasing usage of renewable energy will contribute towards a greener tomorrow.”

Cecilie Heuch also underlined the need for alliances for a better future. “We are trying to build a whole platform of initiatives to reach our science-based targets when it comes to what we do internally and what we do with our suppliers. Renewable energy in the grid in Bangladesh would make a huge impact. And we need to build an alliance for this impact.”

Syed Tanvir Husain, “Our actions will determine our future if we act responsibly now and take good care of mother nature, tomorrow our future generation will reap the benefit. As future-ready tech leaders in Bangladesh, our workforce must act responsibly to lead by example and inspire others to create a coalition with society.”

Grameenphone employees observed the week through different dedicated actions, like – using only reusable shopping bags, constantly turning off electronic equipment when not in use to save electricity, reducing meat consumption and food waste, and planting trees. To encourage employees, a booth was placed at the GPHouse, from where employees could get desired saplings throughout the week. Meat-free day and single-use plastic-free day was also celebrated at the office on May 18 and 19, respectively. Besides Grameenphone, all business units of Telenor are also set to observe the Green Week.