Bonayan gets prestigious SDG Brand Champion Award 2023

Bonayan, the largest private sector-driven afforestation programme, has been honored with the prestigious SDG Brand Champion Award in Climate & Environment category at the SDG Brand Champion Awards 2023 for its impactful nationwide afforestation initiative.

“Akij Bashir Group Presents SDG Brand Champion Awards 2023 in Association with Aspire to Innovate (a2i)” award gala was held at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden on Friday, said a press release.

This prestigious accolade, initiated by the Sustainability Brand Forum, awarded 24 initiatives - 11 winners and 13 honourable mentions. This award aimed to recognise and honour private organisations and brands that have contributed outstandingly to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh, it added.

The accolade was received by Golam Mainuddin, alongside him, Jorge Luis Macedo, Ahmed Raihan Ahsanullah, and Sazzad Hossain on behalf of Bonayan.

Bonayan, a programme of the British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB), started in 1980, responding to the call for mass plantation from the Forest Department of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Since then, Bonayan has come forward to help the government realize the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets and is now supporting the government to achieve SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) targets of enhancing forest area as a proportion of the total land area of Bangladesh to 18 per cent and to increase the area of tree-covered land to 25 per cent in relation to the total land area of Bangladesh by 2030.

Every year, Bonayan distributes 5 million saplings of fruit, forestry, and medical species.

The initiative is operating in 22 districts across Bangladesh and has provided over 12 crore saplings to date, free of cost, consisting of over 25 different types of plant species.

Over the years, Bonayan, through effective public-private partnerships, has worked to create several impact zones across the country and is committed to continuing this drive for a sustainable future.

Bonayan is very proud to have received the prestigious Prime Minister’s National Award five times and the Chief Advisor’s Award once. It has also earned international recognition, including the “Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award” for Green Leadership from Enterprise Asia, and the “Bangladesh Innovation Award 2021”.