ENVIRONMENTAL PR ISSUES

  Forests in the Northern Savannah zone will soon return to a state of normalcy as The Green Climate Fund(GCF) has approved $54.4 million to curb issues of deforestation and forest degradation in the zone. When completed, the project is expected to restore 200,000 hectares of off-reserve savanna forests and 300,000 hectares of degraded shea parklands. It will also aid in establishing 25,500 hectares of forest plantations in forest reserves which have been severely degraded. The project dubbed “Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project” will further promote investments in the Shea Value Chain and support the livelihoods of over 500,000 people in Northern Ghana. With technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project will be implemented by Ghana’s Forestry Commission. Mr. John M. Allotey, Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, is optimistic the project will propel Ghana’s Forestry Sector to a great milestone. “I welcome thi...

  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Pure Earth’s report- “The Toxic Truth Children’s exposure to lead pollution undermines a generation of potential” has revealed the massive effect of lead poisoning among children with Africa ranking second hardest hit region. The report states that lead is a potent neurotoxin which is exposed to children through lead in water from the use of leaded pipes, lead from mining industry, toys, cosmetic products and ayurvedic medicines. In Ghana, utensils made from scrap materials are a major source of the exposure. This wrecks irreparable harm to a child’s brain and more dangerous to children under age five. The study which was undertaken by the Institute of Health Metrics Evaluation to analyze childhood lead exposure, features five case studies in Bangladesh, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia and Mexico. Richard Fuller, President of Pure Earth gives some hope as he believes safe recycling, education about the dangers and protection w...

  The need to safeguard the environment against harmful practices and danger has been an issue of great concern since Adam. International organization’s such as the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations have championed this cause for long and corporate bodies have also in their own ways derived ways to protect their environment. These corporate bodies in their bid to get tagged as ‘socially responsible’ adopt Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line (People, Planet and Profit) approach. The People thus employees and customers help the business to make profit but they can only exist when the environment in which they work and transact business is protected. It is therefore essential for Public relations to maintain transparent and constant communication with them on how the organization throughout its operation is ensuring best environmental practices. These can be communicated through memo and newsletters for employees and stakeholders, emails for customers, meetings with key...

Sustainability definitely is the new “black”. Companies across the whole world start to realize that they must extend the reach of their sustainability and corporate responsibility plans and come closer to environmental, economic, and social terms. Planet Earth must be protected in any way. The uncertain legislative and regulatory environment, however, suggests the opportunity for closer integration of sustainability programs with a corporation’s public affairs activities. Public affairs couldn’t be the missing part of all this process because they can actually find the way to support this global vision. Not only big companies but also small ones must tell their environmental story in order to enhance its reputation with customers, employees, and investors. That’s why public affairs should take part to this and help them to make a step forward. Issues such as food security and a warming planet need people and organizations with very different interests to be persuaded to act for the co...