Citi Hungary’s Plant-a-Tree Program in its 6th year brings a total of 150 thousand planted trees

September 25, 2013

Citi Hungary is planting another 39,000 trees around Budapest this fall in continuation of its Plant-a-Tree Program launched in 2008, adding up to a total of 150,000 trees planted since the program launch. When launching this program the bank promised to plant a tree for every customer switching from printed to paperless e-statements. Citi Hungary’s aim with this global initiative is to drive environmentally friendly behavior among its customers and contribute to the conservation of forests in partnership with customers, NGOs and forestry companies.

This autumn 39,000 saplings will be planted in the 16th district of Budapest in forests managed by the Pilisi Parkerdo Forestry to replace trees lost in drought-related fires during the Summer.

Aftab Ahmed, Citi Country Officer for Citi Hungary said, “We at Citi Hungary are thrilled to see that every year a great number of new customers are engaging in our green program. Today we are launching this year’s program with planting another 39,000 trees, one for each of our customer who switched to e-statement since last September. This is a wonderful example of partnering with our customers in contributing to the community while supporting Citi’s endeavor to become the world’s leading digital bank.”

Jon Wiggins, Consumer Business Manager also remarked, “Along with the environmental benefits of preserving nature, going paperless has its consumer advantages as well, as we are providing our customers with a most advanced digital solution to view their statements and track their transactions online anywhere, anytime. We at Citi Hungary are delighted to be part of this initiative, environmental footprint is important to us and our customers and this initiative really drives that with tangible benefits of preserving the environment we all live in.”

“The Pilisi Parkerdo Forestry Company is delighted to work together with Citi Hungary on this important project,” said Peter Csepanyi, chief engineer responsible for production and environmental affairs at Pilisi Parkerdo Forestry. “I would like to thank the bank for their continued support in saving the forests for the next generation. The trees that we are planting will help to clean the air we breathe, purify waterways, control erosion, add beauty to the landscape and provide food and habitat for wildlife.”

Citi Hungary’s partners in this project are the For Naszaly Foundation and the Pilisi Parkerdo Forestry. The Pilisi Parkerdo Forestry Company was established in 1969 and its specialists now manage a total of 65 thousand hectares of national forests in the area surrounding the capital, where the demand for healthy environment and the conservation of natural resources is enormous.