Ford Environmental Grant Boosts The Lagos Green Initiative

As part of its continued commitment to building a better world through its investments in the countries it operates in, Ford has approved an environmental grant to Nigeria to help its environmental needs.

Ford, in collaboration with the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency, has donated more than 100 trees to help improve the environmental conditions in the state; aside from the beautification of Osborne road in Ikoyi, Lagos. The company revealed that the decision to award the grant to Nigeria was borne out of the need to further assist the country overcome some of the challenges associated with population and pollution, especially in Lagos which serves as the commercial capital of Nigeria with a population of about 10 million people.

“It’s important for us to invest in sustainable projects that benefit the environments in which we operate,” said Jeff Nemeth, President and CEO, Sub Saharan Africa. “Africa provides so many new opportunities and improving the environment will benefit everyone, even the generations to come.”

Ford’s environmental efforts have extended to many countries across the globe. “We remain committed to constantly investing in sustainable environmental projects for the wellbeing of all stakeholders and we’re glad to be making a difference in Nigeria, too,” said Nemeth.

Ford’s global grants programme was first introduced in Nigeria in 2012 through the "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" campaign that was focused on education around the need to preserve the environment. The latest project in Ikoyi takes the company one step closer in its drive to help preserve the environment in Lagos State and foster a greener Nigeria, as the country strives to achieve its millennium development goals of ensuring a sustainable environment.

Ford’s global grants programme was launched in 1983. To date, Ford has awarded more than US $ 2million in grants to hundreds of environmental projects in more than 60 countries, spanning Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East, Puerto Rico and now Africa.