FirstBank has announced the start of its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week 2025, scheduled to take place from October 27 to November 1, 2025.
Now in its ninth year, the annual event is a reflection of the Bank’s commitment to community empowerment, environmental stewardship and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Through the ‘Start Random Acts of Kindness’ (SPARK) initiative, FirstBank continues to build its legacy of sowing seeds of kindness, with a focus on uplifting communities and reducing environmental impact.
During CR&S Week, the Bank mobilizes employees across the FirstBank Group, including FirstBank Nigeria, FirstBank UK, FirstBank Gambia, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank DRC, FirstBank Guinea, FirstBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal, First Pension and First Nominees, to dedicate their time and resources to significant causes aligned with the Bank’s sustainability strategy.
Commenting on the week-long event, Acting Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at FirstBank, Olayinka Ijabiyi, said: “CR&S Week is a call to action. It is about showing up for humanity, being kind to each other and showing that even the smallest act can create lasting change.
“FirstBank believes that kindness is a currency that never devalues and that is why every year since 2017, staff have gone the extra mile to give back to communities through their SPARK initiative, while also encouraging people to perform random acts of kindness.”
The Bank plans to plant at least 20,000 trees this week in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), in the final phase of its support for Nigeria’s 2060 decarbonization agenda.
This effort builds on the Bank’s commitment to plant 50,000 trees by 2025, of which 31,000 trees were successfully planted in the last two years.
Furthermore, in line with FirstBank’s commitment to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG) of women empowerment, the Bank will collaborate with Borno and Katsina States to raise and provide medical interventions (including surgeries and aftercare kits) for women living with vesicovaginal fistula (VVF).
Throughout the week, FirstBank staff will be inspired to share messages of kindness, fostering a culture of compassion, civility and empathy across the Bank.
The program will include thematic webinars focused on the SPARK initiative, as well as school engagements designed to instill the values of generosity and social responsibility in younger generations.
The week will culminate with visits to orphanages, internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and charities in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa and the UK, showing kindness and empowering those at the bottom of the pyramid.
These initiatives embody FirstBank’s care for the environment and humanity, aligning with the Bank’s strategic pillars of sustainability and support for Green Recovery Nigeria.
Since the first edition in 2017, FirstBank CR&S Week has highlighted the Bank’s corporate citizenship interventions that drive positive social impact, sustainability and community engagement.
Over the years, it has evolved into a platform that mobilizes both stakeholders and non-customers across its global network to champion causes that improve lives, protect the environment and promote inclusive development.
FirstBank encourages and inspires people to go beyond their everyday routines and perform random acts of kindness.