CEO of CalBank, Philip Owiredu says his outfit’s newly built green environmentally friendly tower is not only a big step towards dealing with global warming and its attendant problems but also the way to go in improving operational efficiency.
“In designing and building our head office, we invested heavily from our own resources in the green future. Many business leaders in Ghana are keen to respond to growing concerns about pollution and the environment in Ghana. Cal bank understands the environmental and social benefits of going green and is committed to playing an active role in the transition from non-renewable to renewable energy,” he said in an interaction with the media and industry players during a tour of the facility.
The company which has been in Ghana since 1990 says it is committed to playing an active role in the transition from non-renewable energy to green energy.
The new Cal Bank Headquarters is a 12-storey environmentally friendly tower which was commissioned in 2018 pulling together indigenous minds and experts whose input assured concrete delivery and jobs for the Ghanaian professionals.
Speaking to the media British High Commission in Ghana said it is committed to investing in civil societies, companies and people embarking on green projects.
The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Clare Thompson, says the commission has already dedicated over 11billion pounds as international green finance to invest in projects which fall under the category.
“We’ve been investing in projects in Ghana for many years. You’ve heard about CDC earlier on, and our investment into green projects is only going to increase. The UK has just raised its commitment to spend international climate finance to 11.6 billion pounds, that’s a huge amount of money. The scope of things on which we can spend that money is enormous because it’s about making things that are sensible to do anyway, green climate-friendly and sustainable investment. So we’re looking forward to hearing about projects that are suitable for that type of investment here in Ghana.”
The move is aimed at creating sustainable jobs and addressing the urgent challenges of climate change.
Financing the bank’s green energy tower
CalBank lives and finances Green as part of its strategic objectives. CalBank supports Ghana with loans and investments that encourage development of green projects or minimize adverse environmental impacts of regular projects.
The CalBank Head office officially commissioned in 2019 is one of the few Edge certified buildings in Ghana by the IFC
The Bank has secured dedicated funding from The French Development Agency (AFD) through SUNREF (Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance) a total of US$20 Million to support Green projects in Ghana
International Finance Corporation (IFC) has also granted the Bank US$12,500,000 for the financing of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE).
