Annual awards form part of Doha Bank’s commitment to raising students’ awareness of sustainable development issues through school and community action

Doha, 21st February 2015: Doha Bank yesterday presented 11 schools in Qatar with the ECO-Schools Programme Awards in recognition of their commitment to sustainable practices and for developing innovative solutions to everyday environmental challenges.

The awards recognized schools that played an active role in propagating the concept of eco-consciousness amongst students and demonstrated a high degree of innovation and creativity in successfully completing their green projects as part of the ECO-Schools Programme.

The Programme awards the leading ECO-Schools with the ECO-Star Trophy in a number of categories. In 2014, ECO-Star trophies for the “Environmental Health” category went to MES Indian School for their ‘Campus Care Force’ project, to Shantiniketan Indian School for their ‘Green School Garden’ project, to Pakistan Education Centre for their project titled ‘Solution to Improve Environmental Health’, and to Philippine International School Qatar (High School) for their ‘Laughing Dove Retreat’ project.

In the “Energy Saving” category, Bhavan’s Public School received a trophy for reducing the use of electricity, water, in the campus and at student homes, while in the “Water Management” category, Philippine School Doha got the award for using air-conditioning condensate to water the vegetable garden.

ECO-Star trophies for the “Waste Management” category went to five schools – to Al Ahnaf Bin Qais Independent Preparatory School for their ‘Managing Waste’ project, to Birla Public School for their ‘Best Out of Waste’ project, to Philippine International School Qatar (Elementary) for their ‘Plastic Bottle Reduction and Recycling Programme’, to Al Tamakon for Comprehensive Education for their ‘Creative Arts from Waste’ project, and to Doha Modern Indian School for their project titled ‘Waste No Waste’.

Alongside the ECO-Star trophies, Certificates made from recycled paper were distributed to the participating students and teachers who worked on the school projects.

Organized and championed by Doha Bank, the ECO-Schools Programme aims to encourage children to become environmental advocates at a young age, and provides a platform for schools to contribute to environmental protection by implementing effective measures to reduce their overall carbon footprint.

“It was a Joy seeing Students actively participating in this event to protect the environment. They are the future. We are also happy to see the extent of creativity and ingenuity demonstrated by students in their projects this year, and we congratulate the students and the teachers on their efforts to improve their school and their community. We should create a better world for the next generation. We should focus on sustainable development for the benefit of the next generation. The challenges of food security, eradicating extreme poverty and providing enough water supply remain in the achievement of sustainable development. The Conference of parties (COP 20 ) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCC) in Dec 2014 concluded by elaborating the elements of the new agreement, scheduled to be agreed in Paris in late 2015. Banks should earmark risk weighted capital towards Green banking or Clean development mechanism or any Sustainable development projects taking into consideration the carbon emissions prevailing in the economy in which the bank operates.As a forward-thinking and socially responsible citizen, Doha Bank has embraced sustainable business practices to satisfy its customers and promote solid environmental stewardship. In doing so the Bank has embarked on a greener path in business and their personal lives.The ECO-Schools Programme recognizes innovative approaches to environmental challenges and provides students an opportunity to express themselves creatively while taking small steps towards making a big difference in the world we live in,” said Dr. R. Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank. “

He added, “Environmental stewardship is one of the pillars of Doha Bank’s CSR efforts. As an initiative aimed at fostering environmental awareness among children and young people, on whom the future of our planet depends, the ECO-Schools Programme can play a catalyzing role in helping Qatar achieve the next level of environmental excellence.”

ECO-Schools is an award programme that guides student action teams within schools on their journey towards sustainability by providing a framework to help embed these principles into the heart of school life. It offers flexibility, allows creativity and encourages innovation on how the school plans to transform itself into becoming an eco-friendly institution.

The ECO-Schools Core Process is very simple. Schools are asked to create a framework for student action and to make a commitment to the ECO-Schools Committee. Once approved, the schools implement the action plan; review and continue the process. The Committee later monitors the progress and awards ECO-Stars to successful schools and projects.