Month: April 2023

Enbridge Board member Gaurdie E. Banister Jr. has been named one of the Top 25 Black Board Members in the U.S. by BoardProspects.com.

In honor of Black History Month, a committee of current public board members, executive recruiters and the BoardProspects team carefully selected a list of Black executives who have helped drive business growth through their board service.

“We’re thrilled Gaurdie is being recognized for his wealth of experience and the positive impact of his service as a Board member,” says Greg Ebel, CEO and President of Enbridge. “It’s been a privilege to work with him, and I look forward to his continued leadership on the Enbridge Board.”

Banister was President and CEO of Aera Energy LLC, an oil and gas exploration and production company jointly owned by Shell Oil Company and ExxonMobil from 2007 to 2015. Prior to that, he held various senior leadership positions at Shell from 1980 to 2007.

Since Banister joined the Board of Directors in November 2021, Enbridge has benefited from his global business and leadership expertise as well as his 40 years of experience within the energy sector.

Volunteers from the Gen™ India office joined Planet Water Foundation to bring clean, safe drinking water to more than 2,250 people in Tamil Nadu. The company annually partners with Planet Water Foundation to help expand access to clean water in rural communities in India, and this year’s project helped the village of Anumandhputheri get the fresh water it needs to fight disease and make long-term improvements to its families’ health and wellness. 

Prior to receiving the AquaTower, Anumandhputheri did not have a water filtration system anywhere in town, leaving its residents no choice but to drink polluted water that carries waterborne illnesses, particularly during the rainy season. Gen volunteers helped Planet Water Foundation staff construct an AquaTower, a three-phase filtration system that produces 1,000 liters of clean water per hour, at Arignar Anna Municipal School. Together, we also conducted a Hygiene Education Program that will continue to help reduce illness among the village’s children and families. 

The AquaTower doubles as a handwashing station for the school’s 340 elementary and middle school students, which further prevents the spread of disease, and Planet Water’s AquaSan surface disinfection system will help the school sanitize sinks and latrines with chlorinated water to improve the children’s health and hygiene. 

“We are very grateful to Gen for providing a very important gift to our students,” said Radha Krishanan.N, principal of Arignar Anna Municipal School. “The AquaTower will help fulfill our basic need for clean drinking water and reduce the health issues of our children.”

“We enjoyed working with Planet Water Foundation team in assembling the AquaTower to give clean water to the school. We also had fun doing the activities with the energetic students. It was a well-organized event, and we are really grateful to get this opportunity to work at ground level the entire day,” said Diwakar, a Development Manager at Gen.

Watch the video to see what an AquaTower installation looks like and learn more about this project in this blog post.

Whether they’re planted on local streets or in distant rainforests, trees play an essential role in the health and prosperity of our planet and all the living beings who share it. Trees sequester carbon, help address air and water pollution, cool our cities, and provide critical habitat to countless species all over the world. That’s why the Arbor Day Foundation is encouraging people to celebrate trees on National Arbor Day this Friday. The environmental holiday, recognized on April 28, is both a celebration of all a tree can be and a call to action to plant trees where they’re needed most.

Thanks to the Foundation’s #ArborDay campaign, it’s never been easier to do your part.

Throughout the week leading up to National Arbor Day the Arbor Day Foundation, together with its partner Vita Coco, will plant a tree in a U.S. forest of need every time “#ArborDay” is used on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, up to 100,000 in total.

In 2022, #ArborDay became the number one trending hashtag on Twitter, attracting a diverse blend of brands, users and high-profile accounts with millions of followers that helped engage their audiences in the tree planting goal. From environmental leaders like Dr. Jane Goodall to world renowned brands like Google, the #ArborDay campaign generated national buzz. The Foundation’s own social media channels generated over 47,000 engagements and more than 2.2 million impressions alone.

This year, the #ArborDay campaign is expected to make an even bigger impact, by encouraging more people to become stewards of trees…And it all starts with a hashtag. With the help of its members, supporters, partners like Vita Coco, and people like you, the Arbor Day Foundation can continue carrying out its mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.