The Environmental Sustainability Summit was held on 27th May 2022 at Westlands Nairobi. The event saw the gathering of stakeholders involved in sustainability, scholars on matters environment and decision makers on ecosystem restoration attending. The keynote speaker at the event was Mr. George Wachiuri, in his capacity as Chairman and Trustee of the Optiven Group Foundation which is also involved in the sustainability and green advocacy agenda under the environment pillar of the Optiven Group Foundation.
Addressing the delegates, Wachiuri expressed gratitude to the organizers – Kenya Entrepreneurs’ Conference on Trade & Development, KENCTAD. Speaking on the Optiven Foundation scorecard Wachiuri said, “we are also grateful to have had an impact in the society through engaging two of our pillars at the Optiven Foundation. In environment, I am grateful to have impacted sustainability enthusiasts at the, in line with this year’s World Environment Day under the theme, Only One Earth!”.
This was made possible by the stakeholders and supporters of planet earth to KENCTAD, which hosted owners of Small and Medium Enterprises from across Kenya for a conversation on #EnvironmentalSustainability’. The event was held under the theme “The role of businesses in promoting environmental sustainability.”
Speaking on the role of companies in promotion of sustainability, Wachiuri recommended that the corporate sector embraces sustainability by recommending biodiversity in common areas of their operations. He noted that the time is now for real estate to contribute towards healthier living, more productive and connected lives of the communities where they operate in.
Quoting the specific action points at Optiven Real Estate, Wachiuri said, “At Optiven, we are offering jogging tracks, meditation parks and green spaces on our projects to ensure that investors environmental and physical needs are taken care of futuristically”. Optiven Real Estate has been awarded for it’s role in sustainably planning it’s projects to cover both environmental and social sustainability.
The Environmental Sustainability Summit featured three panels which covered topics of sustainable finance, business adaptation of sustainability as a concept and #OnlyOneEarth which is the impending theme for this year’s World Environment Day. At the conclusion of the summit, KENCTAD also launched the #WomenInSustainabilityPodcast a conversation with women leaders and experts in the sustainability space.
