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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2008
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HSBC to be Honored at Brooklyn Botanic Garden's 2008 Spring Gala for Commitment to Environment
Paul Lawrence, President and CEO of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., to Accept BBG’s 2008 Better Earth Award
Brooklyn, NY—May 29, 2008—Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) will honor HSBC at its annual Spring Gala on June 10, 2008, with its Better Earth Award to recognize HSBC for its efforts to raise awareness of environmental issues, as well as for its initiatives to protect and preserve the world’s ecosystems for current and future generations. Paul Lawrence, president and CEO of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., will accept the award on behalf of HSBC.
BBG’s Better Earth Award was launched in 1992 by former BBG president Judy Zuk to recognize individuals and organizations that have made an extraordinary contribution toward making the world a better place. This year, for the first time, the award will be given to a corporation. "I can think of no company that has committed its resources to the imperatives of sustainability and conservation more than HSBC, and we are thrilled to honor them with this year’s Better Earth Award," said Brooklyn Botanic Garden president Scot Medbury.
As the first major bank to go carbon neutral, HSBC is addressing one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges: climate change. Recently, the company launched the HSBC Climate Partnership, a five-year, $100 million partnership among HSBC and The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and WWF that aims to respond to the urgent threat of climate change worldwide. Successful elements of the Climate Partnership include the creation of "climate champions" worldwide who will undertake field research and bring back valuable knowledge and experience to their communities, as well as to help conduct the largest ever field experiment on the world’s forests to measure carbon and the effects of climate change.
Protecting the environment has been a long-standing concern for HSBC. In 2002, the company created a five-year, $50 million eco-partnership, Investing in Nature, to fund conservation projects around the world, which included the largest single corporate donation received by each of the three participating charities: WWF, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and Earthwatch. Through this initiative, HSBC worked to restore three major rivers, develop water purification systems, and save 20,000 plants from extinction. In addition, they trained 200 scientists and sent 2,000 HSBC staffers to work on vital research projects. According to Lawrence, "These successful initiatives have helped people of all ages and backgrounds understand that a healthy natural environment needs to be a fundamental right."
HSBC was the first bank to become 100% carbon neutral in October 2005 and also opened a 100% carbon neutral branch in Rochester, New York, earlier this year. Today, nine out of ten HSBC employees work in offices where the energy and water used and the waste and carbon dioxide produced are evaluated and reported publicly.
Previous honorees of the Better Earth Award include Francis H. Cabot, founder of The Garden Conservancy, who was given the first award for his commitment to garden preservation. Recent recipients include Betsy Barlow Rodgers, founding president of the Central Park Conservancy and internationally recognized landscape preservationist; and Will Rogers and The Trust for Public Land for their work to protect and preserve green space nationwide. Judy Zuk received a Better Earth Award in 2005 in recognition of her 15 years of extraordinary achievements as BBG president. Through her inspiring leadership, Zuk has made a lasting contribution to the cultural life of New York City and to BBG’s place as an international leader in horticulture, environmental education, community outreach, botanical research, and plant conservation.