By Charles Ike-Okoh
FRI, 18 DEC, 2020-theGBJournal- United Bank for Africa (UBA) Africa’s global bank has released its sustainability report, a maiden standalone report that focuses on the Bank’s sustainability journey.
The report, ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ Report 2019, offers a comprehensive view of UBA’s performance in terms of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices in 2019 and adopts the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards, a framework developed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) in October 2016.
The 2019 sustainability report also incorporates reporting requirements from other guidelines such as the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) and Equator Principles, a risk management framework, adopted by financial institutions for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in projects.
The Chairman of the Bank, Tony Elumelu said the report is a further reiteration of the Bank’s commitment to leaving an enduring legacy for the future.
‘’When we say we are committed to building an enduring institution, sustainability is at the heart of that commitment,’’ he said, adding ‘’this is a rare milestone that reinforces our brand as Africa’s Global Bank and at the same time places demands on us to consistently push the frontiers of sustainable banking in Africa.’’
UBA’s approach to sustainability underlines its resilience. At UBA sustainable practices are integrated in the business.
According to the Bank ‘’it is based on this that we adopt a three pronged strategic approach to sustainability with a view to becoming a responsible partner for sustainable economic and social development of our customers, stakeholders and shareholders.’’
‘’This objective draws from our sustainability vision which is to; To be the undisputed Sustainable financial institution in Africa, by supporting the Execution of environmentally and socially responsible endeavours, that promote Excellence.’’
The three prong approach includes commitment to sustainable corporate governance, environment and society and customer first.
Within this scope, the bank encouraged volunteering activities of its employees, launched the direct sale executives (DSE) proposition to drive financial inclusion, established a dedicated ESRM/Sustainability desk to coordinate the Bank’s ESG/ Sustainability activities, rejigged the fleet management system to encourage carpooling and established the Paperless Policy to help reduce paper usage and solid waste reduction.
‘’Sustainability has been embedded into the overall objective of our Bank’s Transformation agenda. The goal is simply to be the number 1 in CBN’s sustainability ranking by the end of 2020,’’ Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director said, to underscore the Bank’s sustainability vision.
‘’We intend to achieve this goal by riding on the back of technology to seamlessly implement our action plans. We shall focus on automating the Bank’s environmental and social impact screening and assessment system. Our Nigerian Sustainable Banking Practices (NSBP) reporting platform will also be automated to allow for easy collation and retrieval of data.’’
To entrench the sustainability vision, the Bank developed policies to guide and measure how it intends to manage the environmental and social footprint, deal with issues of financial inclusiveness, human rights; community safety and security.
According to the Bank in their sustainability statement, ‘’we are committed to assimilating the environmental laws, regulations and codes/standards that guide what we do as a responsible organization.’’
It also pledged to be deliberate in achieving resource efficiency.
‘’This means that we are mindful of how we consume energy, water and other input materials. Our environmental footprints follow a path that suggest that we as a people are committed to containing our emission of greenhouse gas (GHG). Also, we are committed to leading the way in advocating for recovery, reusing, treating and disposing of waste and waste water in a responsible manner.
Also, we encourage respect for labour and to uphold the highest human rights standards. This requires that management provides the right working condition that helps individuals thrive and dare to succeed. Respect for self and others is the cornerstone of our coexistence. Communication is an important tool in this regard. Management and supervisors strive to communicate in clear terms across the enterprise. And we encourage freedom of expression, we discourage discrimination and promote equal opportunity for all staff members to thrive.’’
The Bank’s Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy provides guidance in respect of UBA’s corporate conduct, which requires that all employees act professionally, fairly and with integrity.
‘’This extends to our business partners, vendors, suppliers and other stakeholders,’’ the Bank said.
The Bank also carries out annual assessment on anti-bribery and corruption.
‘’The objective is to communicate the need to maintain good professional ethics.’’
The Bank launched its Agency Banking initiative to ensure access to financial services to areas that were currently excluded, bringing services closer to locations where they are currently underserving, while contributing to the development and preservation of the communities where they are present.
The Bank said, it is a means of ensuring currently under-banked customers are financially served better and currently un-banked customers at these locations are introduced to the functions of financial services thereby driving the gospel of financial inclusion.
Women Empowerment and Gender Inclusiveness is also at the heart of corporate sustainability strategy. UBA has a high level corporate leadership for gender equality and inclusiveness that ensures that all staff members are treated fairly and promotes the health, safety and well-being of all women.
‘’We continuously show our commitment and promote training, enterprise and educational development of our women. Our policies and initiatives encourage women participation in our drive for sustainability. The overall objective is to set a clear path towards gender equality and inclusive economic growth.’’
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