Sri Lanka’s first ever carbon neutral advertising agency BBDO Lanka now tells its own tree story
BBDO Lanka launched its ‘Force for Good’ initiative in February 2012 by becoming the first advertising agency in South Asia to be certified ‘carbon neutral’. This was followed by the launch of Asia’s first mechanical air purifying billboard in May of the same year. BBDO Lanka MD Santosh Menon (pictured left) said, “It’s that time of the year again for us, as a creative organisation and a group of dedicated individuals to renew our commitment to the environment by taking stock of our carbon footprint, taking measures to further reduce our impact on the environment and offset that which we cannot with the purchase of carbon credits.”
CEO Carbon Consulting Company Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne added (right), “BBDO Lanka is one of the first companies in the country to not only take this meaningful initiative but also continuously dedicate itself to environmental conservation. They have been revolutionary not only in terms of rethinking accepted general business practices and continuously minimising their carbon footprint while offsetting the rest but also in their creation of an air purifying billboard as a prototype to be used by others. It is gratifying to see leading global networks and corporates taking a leadership role in such a vital aspect such as environmental sustainability in Sri Lanka. My appreciation goes out to Santosh and the team for their longstanding and unfaltering commitment.”
Menon continued, “Since we are a carbon neutral advertising agency we are delighted with the opportunity given to us by Rotary. With forest cover in Sri Lanka having drastically shrunk to 29% (as at 2012) from 53% over the last two decades – according to the Forest Department – they launched an initiative to plant one million trees in the year 2014/15. The challenge to us was ‘how do we communicate this in such a manner as to get people’s support in this endeavour?’: we came up with the ‘One Million Tree Stories’ idea.”
Associate Creative Director at BBDO Lanka Roshan Fernando and Creative Group Head – Copy Wyomi Abeywickrema explained, “The ‘One Million Tree Stories’ idea: “Each and every one of us has experienced at least one momentous encounter to do with a tree, whether it is the tree under which you played as a child with your best friend, the tree that you climbed high up to be able to have a spectacular view and dream that you could fly, or the tree under which you hung out if only for fleeting moments with the person you were in love with. These and all others are our very own tree stories and make for special memories in our minds.”
The ‘One Million Tree Stories’ campaign, conceived by BBDO Lanka for Rotary District 3220, is sponsored by Hatton National Bank. Initiated as a public-private partnership, it also counts the Ibbagamuwa Divisional Secretariat, Department of Irrigation, Department of Agrarian Development, Forest Department, Department of Education, Road Development Authority and Sri Lanka Army as partners.
Most recently the project was partnered by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and endorsed by Miss World 2014 Rolene Strauss (pictured left). SLTPB Chairman Rohantha Athukorala said, “The beauty of the idea lies not only in BBDO Lanka’s insight that each and every one of us has a tree story but also that the ‘One Million Tree Stories’ campaign gives each and every one of us the opportunity to contribute to environmental conservation and reducing the carbon footprint by sponsoring one or more trees. Sponsorship of a single tree costs just Rs 100, which includes the cost of the plant as well as general maintenance for two years, and buyers can track the progress of their trees as they grow in the Kurunegala District as they have been geotagged.”
“This is more than just planting a tree, it is about addressing a key issue of the tourism industry and the country achieving a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on environmental sustainability,” he added.
Strauss, with whom the campaign immediately resonated, shared her own tree story at the international launch event of the ‘One Million Tree Stories’ campaign. She reminisced of a big tree that grew close to her home in South Africa and every day she would go read a book under the shade of its massive branches, either sitting at the base or higher up on the trunk. It was a companion of sorts to her and she was very attached to it.