To mark World Environment Day - celebrated annually on June 5 - HSBC Malta organised an awareness campaign, 'Banking On Survival', and mobilised its workforce to enhance knowledge of biodiversity and raise awareness of species at risk.

The theme chosen by the United Nations for World Environment Day this year is 'Biodiversity - Ecosystems Management and Green Economy'.

Throughout its branches nationwide, HSBC put up posters of species under threat and at risk of extinction in Malta, among which are the freshwater crab and a large number of sand dune plant species.

Last Thursday, Alan Deidun, a coastal biologist who specialises in the ecology of sandy beach communities, delivered a lecture to HSBC employees on 'Climate Change and Species at Risk in Malta', covering aspects of the invasive or alien species phenomenon.

Following the lecture, Jeffrey Sciberras, a local botanist, delivered a short lecture to HSBC staff at Golden Bay, explaining the local sand dune habitats, which are under severe pressure.

"It is HSBC's long-standing commitment worldwide to protect the environment and support ecological projects as part of our responsibility to the local community," said HSBC Malta CEO Alan Richards.

"Climate change and the threat it brings to nature and our planet is one of the most critical issues we face in the 21st century and we acknowledge that action needs to be taken now, before it is too late," he continued.

HSBC was the first major bank to go carbon-neutral back in 2005. Together with four leading global organisations - The Climate Group, Earthwatch, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and WWF - it has set up the HSBC Climate Partnership, a $100 million community investment initiative for climate change research.

So far, over 1,000 HSBC employees, including 35 in Malta, have trained to become climate champions to encourage action on climate change issues in the organisation and the community.