By Guest Writer
Centenary Bank has launched the Cente Green Days, a five-year tree-growing and landscape restoration initiative that will see the Bank support the growing of 500,000 indigenous timber and fruit trees across Uganda by 2030.
The initiative, launched under the theme “Growing Trees, Transforming Lives, Restoring Creation,” will support the restoration of degraded landscapes while creating environmental and economic benefits for participating communities.
Environmental degradation, particularly deforestation is one of the key sustainability challenges today which is worsening climate change through global warming. It affects agricultural production, business continuity, household incomes and the well-being of communities as a result of irregular rainfall patterns, prolonged drought and floods among others negative impacts of climate change.
Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director of Centenary Bank, Godfrey Byekwaso said the Cente Green Days forms part of the bank’s Environmental, Social and Governance agenda and its commitment to sustainable and responsible banking.
“At Centenary Bank, we are a values-based Bank that recognises the critical connection between financial services, businesses, communities and the environment in which they operate. It is therefore imperative on us to restore the environment in order to enhance the resilience and prosperity of the communities, especially vulnerable ones, only then can the bank prosper,” he said.
Centenary Bank plans to support the growing of 100,000 indigenous timber and fruit trees every year for the next five years across Uganda, making 500,000 trees by 2030. The initiative is expected to contribute to the restoration of approximately 300 acres of degraded land across 12 districts this year and about 1,500 acres over a five-year period.
The Bank is implementing the initiative in partnership with the Uganda Episcopal Conference and Good Forests Foundation with 12 Dioceses of Arua, Nebbi, Kiyinda-Mityana, Jinja, Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kasese, Kotido, Moroto, Fort Portal and Tororo already participating in the programme.
Byekwaso said the Bank chose to work with the Catholic Church because of its trusted leadership, strong community presence and long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship. In addition to owning significant amounts of degraded land, the Church can mobilise communities and inspire people to embrace care for creation as a shared responsibility.
Good Forests Foundation on the other hand brings a wealth of the technical knowledge required to deliver lasting results. Its expertise in site assessment, species selection, planting, maintenance and monitoring will support tree survival and the successful restoration of degraded land.
“We also want participating communities to receive practical benefits from this programme. Indigenous timber and fruit trees can help protect soils, improve food security, diversify household incomes and strengthen resilience to erosion, floods and droughts,” Byekwaso added.
He called upon other organizations to join Cente Green Days and contribute resources, expertise and community networks to expand the programme’s impact beyond its initial five-year target.
Tree growing is not new to Centenary Bank, since 2023, it has supported the growth of over 250,000 trees across the Country. Additionally, in 2025, Centenary Bank began measuring its carbon emissions which stood at more than 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The Bank is now taking deliberate steps to manage and reduce its environmental footprint, including supporting tree growing as part of broader efforts to contribute to carbon sequestration. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
