Sterling Bank is committed to a cleaner green environment – Henry Bassey

The Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Bank Plc, Henry Bassey, is behind the exciting corporate social responsibility campaign, STEM, which is redefining environmental sustainability in Nigeria. STEM, which is short for Sterling Environmental Makeover, is evolving into a movement that is attracting urban youths across major cities by using the power of music and dance to spread positive messages about protecting the environment. He shed more light on the campaign in this interview. Excerpts.

What is STEM all about? What does STEM mean and what do you what to achieve with it?

STEM is an acronym for Sterling Environmental Makeover. It is the umbrella for Sterling Bank’s environment focused corporate social responsibility programme. We are big on the environment and have spend the last 8 years creating this branded asset which champions the cause of the environment. It is a platform where brands can literally come and express their interest in protection the environment. We have been doing this internally for many years now, but for the first-time last year we partnered with Funke Akindele and a few corporates to promote the gospel of Health is Wealth through environmental cleanliness.

Why STEM? What is its relevance to the society?

I think the STEM cause is quite timely, as the subject is becoming increasingly topical all over the world. We can see the effects of environmental degradation, indiscriminate deposing of waste, the ozone layer depletion. Most of these things always sounded distant, but are now happening to us. We now are beginning to experience it in our localities and should take it as seriously as possible. We cannot afford to be reactive to these issues and most adopt a strategic proactive approach to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.

STEM is championing the cause and partnering with relevant government agencies in about 14 states of the federation. Under STEM, Sterling Bank continues to give back through the provision of overalls for the street sweepers, cleaning equipment, etc. The exercise has become such a relevant and appealing subject that is seeing a lot more corporates joining the cause.

Sterling Bank is not an NGO. You are not the government. Why would a bank be pursuing the cause of the environment vigorously from what we could see in terms of advert campaigns and your awareness around it?

We are a responsible entity and use STEM, which is about environmental sustainability as our flagship corporate social responsibility programme. The Environmental sustainability narrative is timely and a wakeup call for every Nigerian to have a mind set change in the way we dispose our refuse, and act towards our environment.  In the last few weeks, I have seen different videos and images of erosion and poor disposing of refuse have led to unrepairable damages. For us this is an opportunity to show the whole world that we care for their wellbeing, as we place a great value on human lives. This campaign tells a compelling story of the dignity in labour and the pride associated with doing good through cleaning. It shows that cleaning can be fun and cool with benefits for all who heed the call to sacrifice a few hours on the 12 August 2017 to clean their environment.

Looking at the STEM campaign and the environmental issues around the country, it seems very timely like you have said. Is the bank also exploiting it to publicise itself as doing good work?

The interesting thing about what we are doing is that we decided years ago to do it own our own. However, In the process of doing it very well over the past 8 years, other blue-chip companies have identified with our effort and feel that it is something they too can associate it. We have also attracted partnerships from leading electronic and print media organisations who have joined the corporates for a good cause. The content for publicity is more about creating awareness for Environmental Sustainability to drive a change in our habits. The truth is that when you do good at the level and scale that I have described all over the country, you will get noticed.

What should we expect during the 2017 edition of STEM?

STEM is going to be really interesting this time around because our STEM ambassador, Olamide Adedeji a.k.a Badosneh, will be at the exercise. He will be performing a theme song that he has produced. The song which has a beat that grows on you, literally speaks to the mindset shift that is required for everyone to take steps towards a cleaner and sustainable environment. We will have a very well organised reception for people coming to participate in the exercise. They will be welcomed with branded/titled cleaning kits, that break people up into different groups and each group will be kitted with the same gear and expected to clean together as a unit.

If you have come in contact with the STEM campaign materials, you will notice that there is a call for job vacancy’s by Olamide. for instance, you will see or hear him (Olamide) saying that he is looking for a CEO. For us at STEM, the CEO literally stands for the Chief Environment Officer and so, you will have a group of people with cleaning gears branded (CEO). The campaign is getting a lot of people excited, as they are asking if they could be CEO’s on the day of the exercise. The whole essence of the campaign is for us to see cleaning as cool and not seen as a derogatory task. In the words of our Executive Director “Each time we join the street sweepers to clean the street, we are part of an unstoppable force to make our world a better place and that is what we want to achieve with this exercise”.  So, on the day, you will have a CEO, a CSO (Chief Sanitation Officer), a CMO (Chief Maintenance Officer) etc. They all stand for interesting titles in blue chip organisations; But the summary is that cleaning is cool and can be fun.

How big is STEM 2017? Is it a Lagos or national programme? Is it only about cleaning?

STEM is about cleaning, tree planting and recycling to protect our environment. It’s not only a Lagos programme, but a national programme that will be happening simultaneously in states that include Enugu, Oyo, Rivers, Ogun, Kwara, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The programme is beyond just cleaning. It also advocates mindset shift. One of our partners, the British Council, was attracted because of the corrective campaign messaging that drives lifestyle change. We are educating people so that they know they cannot just throw their dirt anywhere. There is the educational side to it, a part where we will be visiting schools to pass on the knowledge for this campaign to continue. What we are saying is that if we all hold back and don’t throw the dirt just anywhere, we would have solved a great part of the refuse problem in our country today

STEM also includes a tree planting scheme, where we have invested to combat desertification and erosion in Northern Nigeria. We have planted over 1000 trees in Bauchi, Gombe and Plateau and can also tie this to our going green initiatives.

What are the expected outcomes from this year’s cleaning exercise beyond STEM becoming big with people singing and dancing to its theme song?

The expected outcome from this year’s national cleaning exercise will be a clear increase in awareness that will impact and begin to change the way Nigerians view their environment. We will be leaving a sustainable solution at the Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos. A location that is accountable for a huge chunk of the nation’s GDP, but needs improved facilities to remain cleaner than it currently is. We have identified gaps in the existing waste collection model and will be partnering with LAWMA to ensure that these gaps are closed. For us, this is not just about a oneday exercise but proffering sustainable and environmental friendly solutions.

How did the choice of Olamide as STEM ambassador fit into this sustainability narrative?

The STEM ambassador is Olamide and we chose him because of his huge appeal among Nigeria’s youthful populace especially at street level. If there is anything that speaks for him on this subject, it is his ‘leave trash for LAWMA’ antecedent on social media and its impact. He embodies the street culture and we recognise that he is an influencer and will create a connection between STEM and Nigeria’s youthful demography. For example, on Twitter alone, he has over 1.2 million followers and we can speak to all his other social media handles and see that the huge followership is something that we will want to use positively. So far, we are delighted by the results we are seeing.

Do these exciting results include a cleaner environment across the country and fewer flood incidents next year?

We believe that this is a marathon. It is not a 100-metre dash. The challenges cannot be fixed overnight, so we will continue to take steps and encourage our partners to do the same. We believe that in the next few years the narrative will be different.

This is not a quick fix and we are in this for the long run. It is something we will continue to promote as it is in line with our brand purpose of enriching lives.

A lot has been invested in STEM by the bank over the years and its keeps getting bigger. How is Sterling Bank coping with increasing cost?

Interestingly, the investment on STEM is increasingly becoming shared by the partners that are coming on board because they recognised it as a platform to give back. Our partners are reducing the cost associated with STEM. We are not doing it alone anymore. Great deals and the support from our partners is increasing our ability to do a lot more.