At Investec, we recognise the local and global benefits of trees. They enrich communities and the wider environment, while improving air quality, reducing flood risk, sequestering carbon, and protecting habitats and biodiversity.
According to a recent study by Investec’s supported charity Trees for Cities, the 480 trees at Kennington Park in south London alone remove eight tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year. The financial contribution of green spaces to public health and welfare is also palpable, estimated at £30bn a year by the UK government in its first full assessment of the UK’s natural environment in 2011.
Investec plants trees with Trees for Cities
In 2017, Investec volunteers planted over 1,500 trees for our UK communities. More than 165 people got involved, from our offices in London, Leeds and Reading, including our global head of private banking, Ciaran Whelan, and more than 50 members of Investec’s Private Banking team in London.
Teresa O’Brien, who heads Sustainability at Investec in the UK, said: “external air pollution is a huge problem, responsible for 40,000 premature deaths in the UK every year. It’s great for our people to have the opportunity to get out of the office and plant trees in urban areas, and do something positive to help improve local air quality.”
