ComBank marks completion of 100,000 trees project with pledge to plant another 100,000

Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge and Chief Operating Officer S. Prabagar participate in the ceremony to mark the completion of the 100,000 trees project

Sri Lanka is 100,000 trees richer thanks to the completion, ahead of schedule, of a commitment by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon to plant that number of trees at selected locations across the island, and the bank has announced plans to plant another 100,000 trees over the next 12 months.
Sri Lanka’s leading private sector bank recently celebrated the successful completion of its ambitious ‘Trees for Tomorrow’ project, originally planned for execution over three years, in exactly one year from its launch.
“This is a significant milestone for us, for our country’s rich and diverse ecosystems, for the bank’s sustainability road map, and its vision for the future,” Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge commented. 
“Our sustainability agenda now interlinks with everything we do, and this project and its expansion underscore our unwavering dedication to environmental conservation and sustainable development. It is also an excellent example of what the Bank can achieve with single-minded commitment and engagement with passionate and likeminded people and institutions.”

The main event celebrating the completion of the project and the launch of another of equal proportions took place at Commercial Bank’s Elite Branch in Colombo with the participation of Manatunge, the bank’s Chief Operating Officer S. Prabagar, members of the corporate management and key customers.
Several Commercial Bank branches across the country also held celebrations on their own with customers from their respective regions, and all invitees were presented with plants as a token of the Bank’s commitment to environmental sustainability and customer engagement.
Commercial Bank’s ‘Trees for Tomorrow’ programme, launched on 11th November 2023, envisaged engagement with government agencies, universities, the Sri Lanka Army, Department of Forest Conservation and other institutions that would allocate the land, and support the initiative by helping the Bank to protect and maintain the trees till they are self-sustaining.
As the programme progressed, the Bank entered into partnerships with several organisations, including the University of Jaffna, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd, or PLANT, an initiative of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) for tree planting and reforestation projects in areas as diverse as Jaffna and Kilinochchi, Kalutara and Maskeliya.