- Konica Minolta celebrates Earth Hour – ‘2020-Tree’ style
- Konica Minolta South Africa employees donate trees, desks and chairs to Orange Farm primary school
Konica Minolta South Africa’s commitment to the environment continues with a generous donation of 30 trees, desks and chairs to Imbali Combined School in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, during March; a month with a multitude of dates celebrating the planet and promoting sustainability. These days include, among others, Earth Hour, World Water Day, World Planting Day, and World Rewilding/Forest Day.
Trees are one of the most critical natural resources – we receive food and oxygen from trees, which is why it’s indispensable to preserve and grow more of them. As portion of Konica Minolta South Africa’s ongoing relationship with the food security and urban greening Non-Profit Social Enterprise, Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA), a total of 30 trees were donated in the handover – 15 fruit trees and 15 indigenous shade trees, making up 11,07 tonnes of CO2 offset.
This was Konica Minolta South Africa second visit to Imbali Combined School. In 2008 they visited the school for the first time and donated 50 trees – making it 80 trees donated to date.
Ntombie Dlamini, marketing co-ordinator at Konica Minolta South Africa, highlighted during her speech at the tree-handover that Konica Minolta is a firm believer in the ability of businesses to advance and transform society. She emphasised that “No matter how young or aged we are, it is our duty as earth stewards to ensure that future generations can indulge in the planet for years to near.”
“As portion of our 15 years celebration of the Tree Planting Initiative – we wanted to return to schools and communities where we had previously planted trees to see how they’re doing and continue to build on our ongoing relationships and assist where we can”, she added.
Furthermore, this year, Konica Minolta, print technology experts, gain increased the impact by extending the company’s CSI initiative beyond the provision of trees. Along with the donation of trees, the school received a special delivery of environmentally friendly classroom desks and chairs to accommodate the growing number of learners. These are much needed furniture items, as the number of learners accommodated by the school has grown exponentially in the last year, from 800 to over 1000 learners in 2023.
Konica Minolta and FTFA acquire been collaborating on similar initiatives for many years throughout South Africa, and this donation marks the company’s largest contribution to the school.
“I was thrilled to acquire my hands dirty with lifegiving soil, as I assisted the pupils in planting trees. Seeing young people’s perspectives on the value of planting trees and their understanding of their benefits was really encouraging. I am certain that they will continue to plant trees in the future, having been fraction of such a vital exercise and learning opportunity,” Dlamini added.
“Society sometimes overlook the importance of providing students with a positive and conducive learning environment, says Nunzi Moutembo, a facilitator with FTFA. “It is imperative that we create a healthy, stimulating setting for learning both inside and outside of the classroom.” The trees we planted at the school 15 years ago are still there, and they provide this basic need.
A grateful Mr Tete, principal of Imbali Combined School, concluded by added, “I am so glad that everyone attended this tree planting event. I am extremely proud to be working with both Konica Minolta South Africa and Food and Trees for Africa. Getting to where we are now has been an incredible journey for us, and we remain committed to encouraging ecological awareness among our pupils.”
Over the years, Konica Minolta has conserved resources through efficient operations, employing a sustainability-based approach, and partnership formation to support climate action. Through this approach and partnerships, Konica Minolta South Africa has planted over 64,000 trees since 2008, offsetting an estimated 23,767.15 tonnes of CO2.
CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za for free.
Press Release Views since 1 July 2022: 8
Purity
“PR writing is so horribly consistent, or consistently horrible, that agencies even have a template for it.” – Mark Ragan
Greek Rifle
Public relations, in this country, is the art of adapting big business to a democracy so that the people have confidence that they are being well served and at the same time the business has freedom to serve them well. – Arthur W. Page
Buckshot
“Instead of thinking of service as a cost, consider it an opportunity to earn your customer’s business all over again.” ~ Oscar Auliq-Ice, Happy Customers