BPI’s 170th anniversary celebration through its Lakbay Luntian Initiative

The social development arm of BPI, BPI Foundation has started to reforest 170 hectares of land in Pantabangan, Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve, Nueva Ecija as part of the Bank’s 170th-anniversary celebration in August.

According to BPI Foundation Executive Director Owen Cammayo, “In previous years, we held nationwide volunteer activities as part of our anniversary celebrations. This year, we aligned with the Bank’s 170th anniversary theme and reinvented how we do volunteer work and give back to our communities as one BPI.”

Lakbay Luntian is the first-ever virtual tree planting initiative organized by BPI Foundation, in partnership with eco-social enterprise Bambuhay and Ayala Corporation’s Kasibulan Project, a long-term program on reforestation and forest protection. This is part of the Balik-Kalikasan program, which aims to preserve and restore rainforests across the country while equipping local communities with sustainable alternative livelihood and strengthening every Filipino’s commitment to protecting the environment through reforestation.

Through the collaborative efforts of BPI employees and BPI Foundation, a total of 68,000 bamboos and trees will be planted in Nueva Ecija. This will also help offset BPI’s total carbon emissions for the year 2020, while providing sustainable livelihood to 17 Indigenous People (IP) families in the area.

“Our BPI employees have shown that amid the pandemic, the bayanihan spirit remains very much alive in all of us,” said BPI President and CEO TG Limcaoco. “Remember that we have not survived 170 years by remaining still. It’s been 170 years of constant reinvention, progress, and thinking to do good for our friends, neighbors, clients, and colleagues.”

Visit https://www.bpifoundation.org to know more about BPI Foundation and its initiatives.