Yemisi Izuora
Union Bank, in partnership with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), commemorated the 2026 World Environment Day with a symposium at the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos, calling for stronger collaboration to confront climate change, advance conservation and equip young people to lead a more sustainable future.
The gathering brought Union Bank together with leading stakeholders for frank discussions on environmental sustainability, climate action and shared responsibility, in keeping with this year’s World Environment Day theme, “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future.” The conversation reflected a growing global consensus, captured in Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action and Sustainable Development Goal 17 on partnerships, that no single institution can meet the climate challenge alone.
Delivering her goodwill message, Union Bank’s Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, Mrs. Olufunmilola Aluko, urged businesses to match their commitments with action and pointed to the decisive role of finance in shaping a greener economy. She said,
“As a Bank that has been part of Nigeria’s story for over a century, Union Bank recognises that sustainable development and environmental responsibility must go hand in hand. We believe businesses have a role to play not only in what they say, but also in what they do. Banks play an important role because they help determine where capital flows. The choices financial institutions make about what to fund and what to encourage help shape the kind of economy we build. This is a responsibility we take seriously at Union Bank, and it is one of the reasons gatherings like these matter to us.”
Her remarks echo the globally recognised principle that the financial sector is a powerful lever in the transition to a low carbon economy, where decisions on lending and investment can either accelerate or slow the shift to cleaner growth.
In his keynote address, the Director General of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Dr Joseph Daniel Onoja, framed conservation as a matter of human survival:
“Nature has placed all the models that we need to be able to live well in it. When we talk about nature conservation or environmental conservation, we’re saying human conservation because nature, Mother Earth, will always take care of herself. If we don’t take care of it, it will take care of itself by getting rid of us. Now, it is in our best interest to take care of the earth and learn from her, because she has provided everything we need to do so.”
A panel session featuring secondary school students from within and beyond Lagos brought an intergenerational dimension to the day. The students urged businesses and individuals to prioritise climate conscious investments and cleaner energy sources, and exhibited innovations that turned waste into interior décor and clean energy. Their work offered a vivid illustration of Sustainable Development Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production, and of the creativity a younger generation brings to the climate conversation.
Union Bank remains committed to supporting initiatives that advance environmental protection, ecosystem restoration and the development of more sustainable communities for present and future generations. For an institution that has been part of Nigeria’s story for more than a century, safeguarding the environment is inseparable from building an economy that endures.