As the global campaign against climate change gathers momentum, Seplat Energy Plc is strengthening its environmental sustainability efforts through a reforestation initiative that seeks to restore degraded landscapes, protect biodiversity and create economic opportunities for host communities.

Seplat Energy Plc is an indigenous Nigerian energy company listed on the Premium Board of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX: SEPLAT) and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: SEPL).

The company pursues a strategy centred on building a sustainable business and supporting the energy transition, with the stated objective of delivering affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to promote social and economic prosperity.

Its portfolio comprises 11 Petroleum Mining Leases (PMLs), 17 Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs) and five Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) in onshore and shallow-water locations in the Niger Delta, where it operates alongside partners, including the Nigerian Government and other producers.

Seplat Energy also has operated interests in three export terminals: the Qua Iboe export terminal, Yoho floating storage and offloading vessel, and Bonny River Terminal.

Its gas infrastructure includes processing facilities at Oben and Sapele in its western assets and the 300-million-standard-cubic-feet-per-day ANOH Gas Processing Plant in its eastern assets, an integrated joint venture with NGIC. Together, these facilities support the company’s position as a supplier of natural gas to Nigeria’s domestic power generation market.

The company’s Tree4Life Programme, which recently achieved the milestone of planting 200,000 trees, represents a significant step towards its ambition of establishing one million trees by 2030.

Oracle Intelligence reports that the initiative reflects an approach to environmental stewardship that connects climate action with community participation, sustainable livelihoods and long-term ecological restoration.

Through the programme, Seplat Energy is demonstrating how environmental conservation can become an instrument of inclusive development, providing communities with opportunities to participate in restoration activities while contributing to the protection of natural ecosystems.

The initiative also reinforces the company’s broader sustainability objectives, particularly its commitment to responsible energy development and the integration of environmental considerations into its operations.

At the heart of the Tree4Life Programme is the recognition that reforestation extends beyond planting seedlings. Sustainable restoration requires appropriate species selection, effective nursery management, continuous maintenance and the monitoring of planted trees to ensure their survival and long-term environmental benefits.

According to Seplat Energy’s 2025 Social Performance Report, the programme has established nurseries containing more than 175,000 seedlings, providing a foundation for continued planting activities and the expansion of restoration efforts.

The development of the nurseries supports the availability of seedlings for the programme while creating opportunities to build local expertise in tree propagation, planting and maintenance.

The initiative also seeks to improve the condition of degraded landscapes, strengthen biodiversity conservation and support the ecological functions performed by trees and forests.

Oracle Intelligence reports that trees play important roles in climate regulation by absorbing carbon dioxide as they grow, while forests provide habitats for wildlife, protect soils against erosion and contribute to the maintenance of local water cycles.

Through its reforestation activities, Seplat Energy says it is seeking to contribute to these environmental benefits while strengthening the resilience of ecosystems within its project areas.

With 200,000 trees planted and a 2030 target of one million, Seplat Energy is combining environmental restoration, biodiversity conservation and community empowerment to advance its sustainability ambitions.

The programme’s long-term impact, however, will depend not only on the number of trees planted but also on their survival, growth and ability to contribute to lasting ecological restoration.

Recognising this, the company plans to strengthen maintenance programmes, monitor survival rates and undertake replacement planting where necessary. These measures are intended to improve the effectiveness of planting activities and ensure that the programme’s environmental benefits endure beyond individual planting seasons.

A defining feature of the Tree4Life Programme is its emphasis on community participation. Rather than treating environmental restoration as an activity separate from local development, Seplat Energy is integrating community engagement and capacity building into the initiative.

The company’s 2025 Social Performance Report indicates that more than 300 community members have received training in tree planting, nursery management and sustainable land-use practices.

This investment in local capacity is intended to equip participants with practical skills that can support the programme’s implementation and promote environmental stewardship beyond the immediate project activities.

By developing these skills, the initiative is also helping communities build a stronger understanding of sustainable land management and the importance of protecting natural resources.

The programme has engaged more than 350 community members in activities including site preparation, planting operations, nursery management and logistics support.

These activities have created economic opportunities for participating communities, enabling local residents to contribute directly to environmental restoration while earning income from project-related work.

The approach illustrates how climate action can generate social and economic benefits alongside its environmental objectives.

For communities participating in the initiative, the benefits extend beyond the immediate employment opportunities associated with planting and nursery operations. The development of practical skills, greater awareness of conservation and involvement in environmental management can help establish a foundation for more sustainable land-use practices.

Community participation is also essential to the long-term protection of planted trees. Where residents understand the value of restoration efforts and have a stake in their success, they can play a more active role in protecting trees from damage and supporting their continued growth.

Seplat Energy’s emphasis on stakeholder engagement is therefore central to the programme’s sustainability, encouraging shared responsibility for forest protection and environmental stewardship across participating locations.

With 200,000 trees planted, Seplat Energy has reached one-fifth of its stated one-million-tree ambition for 2030.

The milestone provides a platform for the next phase of the programme, which the company plans to scale up from 2026 through phased planting activities, stronger maintenance arrangements and expanded monitoring.

Achieving the target will require sustained implementation over the coming years, supported by adequate seedling supplies, effective coordination with host communities and continued attention to the survival of planted trees.

The company’s plans also include expanding environmental and social baseline studies, improving biodiversity monitoring and strengthening the measurement and verification of carbon sequestration outcomes.

These measures are important for assessing the programme’s actual environmental contribution and establishing a clearer picture of its long-term impact.

Environmental baseline studies can help establish the condition of project locations before or during restoration, providing a reference against which subsequent changes can be assessed. Biodiversity monitoring, meanwhile, can help determine whether restoration activities are supporting improvements in habitat quality and ecological diversity.

The planned strengthening of carbon measurement and verification is equally significant. While tree planting can contribute to carbon sequestration, the amount of carbon absorbed depends on factors such as tree species, growth rates, survival, soil conditions and the duration of monitoring.

Reliable measurement will therefore be essential to determining the programme’s contribution to climate action and ensuring that reported outcomes reflect verifiable environmental benefits.

By aligning its monitoring efforts with internationally recognised standards, Seplat Energy aims to improve the credibility and accountability of the programme’s environmental performance.

These measures could also help the company identify successful restoration practices, address implementation challenges and direct resources towards activities that deliver the greatest long-term benefits.

The Tree4Life Programme forms part of Seplat Energy’s  broader commitment to responsible energy development, environmental sustainability and inclusive growth.

The company’s operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry place environmental management alongside the challenge of delivering energy to support economic activity. Its sustainability agenda seeks to address this relationship by pursuing initiatives that support environmental protection while creating value for communities.

The Tree4Life Programme offers one example of how that ambition can be translated into practical action.

The initiative provides a framework for linking environmental restoration with social progress by combining reforestation with local skills development, employment opportunities and community engagement.

Its success will ultimately depend on the extent to which planted trees survive and mature, degraded landscapes recover, biodiversity benefits are sustained and participating communities continue to share in the programme’s value.

The planned expansion of planting activities and improvements in monitoring will be important in determining whether the initiative can translate its early progress into measurable long-term outcomes.

The one-million-tree target is therefore more than a numerical ambition. It represents a commitment to sustained restoration, requiring continued investment, effective implementation and cooperation among the company, host communities and other stakeholders.

As Seplat Energy builds on the planting of 200,000 trees, the programme’s next phase will test its capacity to scale up restoration while maintaining the quality and durability of its environmental and social benefits.

Ultimately, the Tree4Life Programme underscores the potential for corporate sustainability initiatives to connect climate action with community empowerment. By investing in trees, local expertise and shared environmental responsibility, Seplat Energy is working towards a model of restoration that seeks to benefit both the natural environment and the people whose livelihoods depend on it.

Its ambition to plant one million trees by 2030 provides a clear measure of progress, while the emphasis on survival monitoring, biodiversity assessment and carbon verification offers a pathway towards demonstrating the programme’s lasting contribution to environmental sustainability.