- Safiu Kehinde
West African financial institution giant, FirstBank, has announced plan to plant 20,000 trees in Nigeria and initiate empowerment programmes as part of its activities for the 2025 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week.
The event is scheduled to hold from 27 October – 1 November 2025.
As announced in a statement issued by the bank on Monday, the CR & S week, now in its ninth year, is a reflection of the FirstBank’s commitment to community empowerment, environmental stewardship, and the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The initiative carried out under the ‘Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness’ (SPARK) initiative, had seen the bank continuously building on its legacy of sowing seeds of kindness.
The tree planting exercise which is set to be done in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), was declared as the final phase of FirstBank’s support for the Nigeria’s 2060 decarbonisation agenda.
This effort reportedly build on the Bank’s pledge to plant 50,000 trees by 2025, with 31,000 trees successfully planted over the past two years.
According to the statement, the CR&S Week will see employees across the FirstBank Group, including FirstBank Nigeria, FirstBank UK, FirstBank Gambia, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank DRC, FirstBank Guinea, FirstBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal, First Pension, and First Nominees, mobilised with their time and resources dedicated to meaningful causes which aligned with the Bank’s sustainability strategy.
Commenting on the week-long event, Acting Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications at FirstBank, Olayinka Ijabiyi, described as a call to action.
He reiterated FirstBank’s believe that kindness is a currency that never devalues.
“CR&S Week is a call to action. It is about showing up for humanity, being kind to one another, and proving that even the smallest act can ripple into lasting change.
“FirstBank believes that kindness is a currency that never devalues, and that is why every year since 2017, staff have gone the extra mile to give back to the communities through its SPARK initiative, while also encouraging people to perform acts of random kindness.” Ijabiyi said.
Additionally, in line with FirstBank’s commitment to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG) of women empowerment, the Bank will collaborate with Borno and Katsina States to raise and provide medical interventions (including surgeries and post-care kits) for women living with Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF).
Throughout the week, FirstBank staff will be inspired to share messages of kindness, fostering a culture of compassion, civility, and empathy across the Bank.
The programme will feature themed webinars centered on the SPARK initiative, as well as school engagements designed to instill the values of generosity and social responsibility in younger generations.
Also in the scheduled activities is visits to orphanage homes, internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, and charitable organisations across Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa, and the UK, demonstrating kindness and empowering those at the bottom of the pyramid.
These initiatives epitomise FirstBank’s care for the environment and humanity, aligning with the Bank’s sustainability strategic pillars and support for the Green Recovery Nigeria
The bank noted that since the first edition in 2017, the CR&S Week had spotlighted its corporate citizenship interventions driving positive social impact, sustainability, and community engagement.
Over the years, it has evolved into a platform that mobilises stakeholders and non-customers alike across its global network to champion causes that uplift lives, protect the environment, and promote inclusive development.
FirstBank is encouraging and inspiring individuals to go beyond their everyday routines and perform acts of random kindness.