On its third year, Banyan Tree Global Foundation officially commences its Greater Good Grants (GGG) for Year 2023 with an open invitation for external organisations and academics to submit innovative and impactful initiatives that benefit local communities and environments where the Group operates.
Projects will be assessed by their contribution to the following six areas aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Group‘s core ethos of ‘Embracing the Environment, Empowering People’:
∙ Biodiversity & Conservation: improve understanding, conservation and management of species and habitats
∙ Resource Use & Waste Management: innovative projects that tackle cradle-to-grave lifecycle of resources that benefit community, business and the environment
∙ Climate Change & Resilience: elucidate global change and develop resilience in natural and human systems
∙ Education & Empowerment: development of education infrastructure, capacity and delivery to students of any age, with particular focus on disadvantaged members of society
∙ Health & Protection: focus on health and wellbeing in local communities
∙ Culture & Livelihood: development, protection, restoration and stewardship of culture and livelihoods
Past projects have included the reforestation of Borneo’s rainforests, conservation of threatened species of tortoises and turtles in Thua Thien Hue province in Vietnam, and providing safe, running water to 37 households in the rural Bumi Indah village, Indonesia. Full details of past projects can be found in our Sustainability Report 2021.
Making an Impact in 2023
Applications for GGG may be submitted from 30 September to 31 December 2022 SGT. Project grants are up to US$10,000, open to all individuals over the age of 18, who have an organisational affiliation.
Submissions will be reviewed by the Board of Directors of Banyan Tree Global Foundation and an internal panel of stakeholders, based on (1) Project suitability and alignment with local community needs (50%), (2) Capacity to implement and create impact (25%), and (3) Risk and finance (25%).
Successful project grantees will be notified by Q1 2023.
Banyan Tree Global Foundation launched the inaugural Greater Good Grants (GGG) in 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a critical time when livelihoods were adversely affected and were forced to tap on natural resources to ease economic damages. As a global hospitality group founded on the core value of driving sustainable development, Banyan Tree Group has always championed social and environmental
stewardship and sought to create long-term value for multiple stakeholders and destinations. Its first property, Banyan Tree Phuket, was built on a desecrated tin mining site; since then, the land has been
restored into a lush natural ecosystem housing Laguna Phuket integrated resort – Asia’s first destination resort.
“In this time where hope and tenacity is needed more than ever, we hope to catalyse lasting sustainable change through our Foundation’s Greater Good Grants. We believe that our business is a vehicle for societal betterment and positive transformation. Since the Foundation’s inception, we have given project grants to over 150 partners in the communities where we operate. We look forward to receiving and assessing project submissions that address the six pillars aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and see how each project can deliver measurable impact and scalability to sustain long-term effectiveness,” said Mrs Claire Chiang, Co-founder & Senior Vice President of Banyan Tree Holdings and Chairperson of Banyan Tree Global Foundation.
For more information and to apply, log on to the Greater Good Grants.
