More than 100 BCI employees came together to mark World Environment Day, celebrated on 5 June, with a volunteering activity dedicated to cleaning Costa do Sol Beach.
Promoted by the Bank, the initiative was attended by representatives of several institutions and individuals who joined the cause, including Maputo City Council, the National Institute of the Sea (INAMAR), the environmentalist Carlos Serra Jr., members of his team and university students, in a collective gesture of environmental citizenship and shared responsibility.
On the occasion, the Chairman of BCI's Executive Committee, Francisco Costa, said that the initiative “is above all grounded in a conviction: concern for the environment must be collective. It is an institutional responsibility, but it is also a personal decision.” And he added: “we want this action to serve as an example and motivate others to join in, promoting a better environment for everyone”.
For his part, Carlos Serra Jr. highlighted the symbolism of Costa do Sol Beach, where, in 2015, the clean-up and environmental monitoring activities began. In his address, he stressed: “To come back with such force, in such large numbers, is wonderful to see. After years of preaching, sometimes into the void, we now feel a light at the end of the tunnel”. He also emphasised the importance of the continuing work of sorting and analysing the waste found, as a way of informing the authorities, holding producers accountable and understanding citizens' behaviour: “We pick up everything, and that lets us know what is being consumed or discarded on the beach,” he said.
And as one of the BCI employees testified while actively taking part in collecting waste: “This initiative may seem small in the face of the scale of the environmental problem, but every gesture counts. Taking a piece of plastic or a bottle out of the sand is a direct contribution to a better future. The impact may not be immediate in everyone's eyes, but it is real and necessary”.
Under the motto “Praia Limpa, Futuro Limpo” (“Clean Beach, Clean Future”), the initiative, coordinated by the Sustainability Department, reinforces BCI's commitment to sustainable practices, environmental education and the preservation of natural heritage. Every piece of waste collected represented a significant step towards a cleaner, more conscious and shared future.
