The need for stronger collaboration to address climate change, advance conservation and equip young people to lead a more sustainable future has been emphasised by Union Bank.
At a symposium organised to commemorate 2026 World Environment Day in partnership with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) at the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos, the financial institution urged businesses to match their commitments with action and pointed to the decisive role of finance in shaping a greener economy.
“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,” the company’s Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, Mrs Olufunmilola Aluko, stated.
“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,” she added.
In his keynote address, the Director General of NCF, Mr Joseph Daniel Onoja, framed conservation as a matter of human survival, noting that “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,” he further submitted.
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.
This year’s World Environment Day theme, Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future, and the event, 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.