On 15th January 2018, an agreement was made between HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad and Sabah Environmental Trust to implement a programme to educate and raise environmental awareness in Sabah. In the long run, this will contribute to the long term environment protection, in line with HSBC corporate sustainability focus. The focus group of this innovative initiative is the caretakers of Mount Kinabalu (mountain guides, porters and park rangers) with the aim to enhance and strengthen their capacity (knowledge and awareness), including HSBC employees. When the programme concluded, it is aimed that the focus group will be better acquainted with green living practices along with the concept of conservation of natural resources, mountain ecology and water catchment, current situations of the environment around them and general interpretations. The vision for this programme is for it to be considered for expansion into the “train the trainers” programme. With that in mind, there are a total of 3 workshops conducted for the caretakers, and one study trip to Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA).
In total, 97 participants have attended and benefitted from the three workshops, comprising members of Mount Kinabalu Guides Association (MKGA), Mount Kinabalu Porters Association (MKPA) and rangers from Kinabalu Park (KP).
The three workshops have been successfully conducted at Celyn Resort, Kundasang, Ranau, Sabah with Workshop #1 on 2nd-4th May 2018, workshop #2 on 24th-26th July 2018, workshop #3 on 21st-23rd September 2018 and study trip to MBCA conducted on 27th-30th November 2018.