Fidelity Investments India has been seeking to enhance the green cover in cities through plantation drives conducted in partnership with one of its not-for-profit partners. Fidelity Cares, the firm’s CSR program, organizes these drives for employee volunteers. The first plantation drive was at a lakebed in Bangalore in December 2017, where Fidelity’s volunteers planted 4,000 saplings.
Plantation Activities
Fidelity Investments India conducts plantation activities at least twice a year at different places in Bangalore and Chennai, where the firm has operations. Altogether, our projects have covered approximately 10 acres.
20th Anniversary Celebrations
With the firm celebrating its 20th anniversary last year, the firm conducted drives in Bangalore and Chennai to plant 20,000 saplings – 10,000 in each city. The firm uses the Miyawaki method of plantation, which is a sustainable method of planting urban forests using plants native to the region. With this method of plantation, an urban forest can grow within a short span of 20 to 30 years, while a conventional forest would take around 200 to 300 years to grow naturally.
Volunteer Impact
To date, over 1,500 Fidelity volunteers have helped plant over 134,000 saplings in Bangalore and Chennai (16 urban mini forests at 12 locations from December 2017 till December 2023). These initiatives have resulted in several positive benefits for the environment and our communities, helping bring back butterflies and other fauna, and creating cooler spaces.
(BhavaniPrasad Deshmukh, Head of Regional Public Affairs and Community Relations, Fidelity Investments India)
