Izah Azahari
Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), through the SME360 Series campaign, launched the Sustainable Nation campaign yesterday, a whole-of-nation initiative aimed at encouraging small but impactful actions to fight the climate change crisis and move towards a circular economy specifically for small businesses and the public in general.
The initiative, organised in collaboration with the Community for Brunei, runs from February to July. The campaign is the first of its kind – a multi-level, multi-agency campaign bringing together various partners across various sectors including government agencies, such as the Brunei Darussalam National Council on Climate Change and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the ASEAN Youth Advocacy Network, BruWILD, Borneo Futures and MySDG’s, and entrepreneurs such as Thryffy.
BIBD’s Head of Corporate Digital and Business Development from the Corporate Banking Group Haji Shamri bin Haji Mahali said, “The Sustainable Nation campaign part of our business follows through on one of our three pillars of our BIBD Sustainability Framework – Responsible Entrepreneurship.
“The topic of sustainability may be new to a lot of us and we hope the education and awareness we bring through the series of events under Sustainable Nation will help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) understand how we can help to create a more circular economy. There is no doubt that SMEs have the potential to become the foundations of the domestic and global sustainability agenda.”
He added, “We have one Earth and resources are finite. Whatever our business or role in society, we need to remember that we need to leave a better life and a livable Earth for our future generations.”
Forming the core of the Sustainable Nation campaign is the Eco-Chat Series, run in partnership with AYAN Brunei, and intended to be a catalyst for change and education by starting a conversation and educating the public with industry experts and stakeholders.
Among the topics that will be covered in the series are the climate crisis, sustainable development goals, plastic pollution and fast fashion. The series, which will be open to the public and live streamed to the wider community, will feature speakers from BIBD, the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat, Green Brunei, the MCYS, Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) and Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd.
Community for Brunei will also be partnering with the MCYS in activities related to International Women’s Day under the Sustainable Nation campaign.
Acting Director of Social Services at MCYS Hajah Noraidah binti Haji Abdul Hamid said, “This year marks the ninth year of International Women’s Day celebration in Brunei Darussalam, where we join the global campaign to raise awareness on issues relating to women and welfare issues as a whole. The MCYS will be involved in the Eco-Chat Series, whereby the topic ‘Female Champions of Sustainability’ is in line with the theme of International Women’s Day – ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Future’.”
Hajah Noraidah expressed gratitude for the collaborative opportunity and said that the MCYS looks forward to its implementation bringing about a lasting and sustainable change in the lives of women in the Sultanate.
There will also be a Produce Paper Bags initiative which aims to tackle plastic pollution, a youth-lead Sustainable Fashion Entrepreneurship platform, tree planting initiatives towards net zero by 2050, a Sustainable Schools initiative and an Eco-Cinema Festival.
Vendors on the Community for Brunei virtual platform are also working together to achieve sustainability goals by pledging one per cent of their sales during the campaign period to contribute funds towards planting trees. An impact model will be published on the Community for Brunei website to show the contributions made by the MSMEs towards reducing Brunei’s carbon footprint.
The public is invited to support MSMEs vendors on Community for Brunei to play an active role and contribute towards a worthy cause.
The Sustainable Nation campaign is part of BIBD’s SME360 Series, and aims to foster the development of a wider community of eco-allies in the effort to move the Sultanate towards a circular economy.
