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L-R: Head, Sustainability, Access Bank Plc., Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan; CEO and Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact, Lise Kingo; Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II; and Group Head, Corporate Communications and External Affairs, Access Bank Plc., Amaechi Okobi at the United Nations Global Compact Breakfast Dialogue held in Lagos.
Nigeria’s largest retail bank and
sustainability champion, Access Bank Plc., has joined other
organisations to launch the first-ever United Nations Global Compact
(UNGC) sustainability compendium in Nigeria.
The compendium, which was launched
recently at the UNGC Breakfast Dialogue, documents some of the
stellar efforts of the Bank, its sustainability journey and its
strategic collaborations to facilitate socio-economic development.
Launching the compendium, the former
Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc., Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
urged corporate organisations and SMEs to invest in and practice
sustainability. Highlighting this as the primary solution to
achieving the SDGs in view of the critical issues around health and
poverty that have plagued Africa.
“The collective will and desire for
action amongst organisations has taken a giant leap from where it was
few years ago. However, compared to other nations, the statistics of
malaria, poverty and deaths in Nigeria paints a very gory picture.
Hence, it is the responsibility of every corporate organisation, SME
and individual to get involved in activities that will aid the
achievement of the SDGs come 2030,” he said.
Over the years, Access Bank has
facilitated a growing number of sustainability activities, including
the Malaria-to-Zero initiative, issued the first ever CBI-certified
Green Bond, and also funded various not-for-profit organisations and
programs across all 36 states in the country’s six geo-political
zones, among others.
The Head, Sustainability, Access Bank
Plc., Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, assured Nigerians that Access Bank
will not relent in its contributions to the achievement of the SDGs
saying, “We have entrenched sustainability into every part of our
business operations and activities, in addition to aligning the
implementation of our sustainability strategy with the achievement of
the SDGs.”
“To this end, we have made good
progress in driving social, environmental and economic development
locally and globally. Despite these, we will not relent, rather, we
will continue to invest our time, resources and work with relevant
stakeholders to provide innovative solutions to local and global
challenges,” she added.
The Bank’s sustainability efforts
have been recognized by several prestigious local and international
bodies, becoming a four-time consecutive winner of the Outstanding
Business Sustainability Award by Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance
Awards; 9-time winner of the Most Sustainable Bank in Nigeria Award
by World Finance Awards; two-time consecutive winner of Most
Sustainable Company in Africa by the Sustainability, Enterprise and
Reporting Awards; 2-time consecutive winner of the Central Bank of
Nigeria Sustainability Awards in all categories including Most
Sustainable Bank in Nigeria; 2019 Gender Leader of the Year Award by
Africa CEO Forum Awards, among others.
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