The employees of UBB, DZI, UBB Interlease and UBB's subsidiaries are involved in a large-scale campaign that promotes activities to protect the environment and reduce negative impacts on the climate. Apart from Bulgaria, the campaign is also being realized in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Ireland. Every employee involved in environmental activities "earns" a tree for afforestation in his or her country. The ultimate goal is to plant a total of 42 000 trees in all countries, which is the number of all employees of the group.

Environmental protection activities focus on three topics closely related to KBC's sustainability policy: waste recycling, carbon footprint reduction and contribution to the circular economy.

A stationary recycling plant operates at the headquarters of UBB and DZI - UBB Millennium Centre and a mobile recycling van traverses the country to facilitate the collection of waste and end-of-life mobile devices at branches of the bank and the insurance company. After its first visits to Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora, only one week after the start of the campaign, the traveling recycler gathered more than 1 tonne of paper, plastic and glass.

On June 22, the employees of the Belgian KBC Group companies will roll up their sleeves and will clean up together 120 decares on the shore of Iskar Dam and the surrounding area around it.

By the end of June the van will visit 10 more towns including Veliko Tarnovo, Pleven, Varna, Ruse, Vidin, Haskovo, Yambol, Sliven, the concerts of BG Radio and the Francofolies Festival in Blagoevgrad, Radio Park Fest in Yuzhen Park in Sofia and will end at the beach in Burgas, which will be cleaned up by the employees of KBC Group on 28 June.

The other two lines of challenge to employees encourage going to work by walking, cycling or by carpooling, in order to reduce the harmful emissions into the atmosphere, as well as support the circular economy by handing over old mobile and electronic devices to extend their life cycle.

With these guidelines, KBC Group employees have already created more than 20 events that include calls for days without printing on paper, days without the use of plastic cups, replacement of cars by subway or carpooling, days of vegetarian meals, etc.

Protecting the environment and reducing the negative imprints on the climate is the 5th challenge that KBC Group employees take on. In a series of in-house initiatives shared by the six countries, employees have donated 500 000 euros so far, gathering kilometres through sports initiatives, and recorded the name of the group in the world's most desired book - that of the Guinness World Records, breaking the record for the highest number of employees who have been solving an online quiz simultaneously.

“The challenges we have passed successfully so far together are an example of the strength of our team spirit. However, the challenges to nature are even greater, and we, the management of KBC Group, and all employees, are aware of this. Evidence of this commitment is also the large number of employees who have proposed precisely green ideas to be part of the fifth challenge. I am convinced that we will be successful again, as the stake is even higher this time - the nature of Bulgaria”, said Peter Andronov, Country Manager of KBC Group for Bulgaria and UBB Chief Executive Officer.

The motto of the fifth challenge faced by the employees of the whole group is "Team Blue Goes Green", and the ambition of KBC Group employees in Bulgaria in particular is to be able to take pride in the autumn in the planting of more than 4000 trees in the country.