Dear Readers,
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ecological disaster brought about by the MV Wakashio oil spill has surprisingly provided us with an opportunity to reset the way we cope with climate change and the way financial systems work. This is an opportunity for Sustainability Practitioners to push for investment in responsible companies, who have, according to researchers shown better resilience and less vulnerability in these tiring times. Every company has started thinking on the ‘What next’ and hopefully started to understand that profit goes hand in hand with people and planet. Adaptation to climate change means a rethinking of our everyday tasks as well as a rethinking of longer-term strategies. We are the generation of change for a better tomorrow and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals can be the template to review how we can imagine and devise the world of tomorrow.
With our 2021 sustainability vision, we have worked in laying the foundation of our strategy and growth for the coming years. Now in line with the 2030 agenda and our Responsible Bank commitment, we are rethinking our sustainability approach and plan to implement targets on key indicators that will allow us to monitor our progress. Our main focus will be the development of our four pillars of sustainability: Social, Workplace, Marketplace and Environment Responsibilities.
This year, we have signed a EUR 10 million credit line under the SUNREF III programme with the Agence Française du développement (AFD) and European Union to fund green and gender friendly projects. This has taken AfrAsia Bank to the next level in Green Financing. In addition, not only have we been successful in creating partnerships with organizations like the United Nations (UN), strategically through our workplace responsibility, AfrAsians have been integrating sustainability in their day to day job. We also pride ourselves in our efforts to produce clear and transparent reports on our extra financial indicators.
As an end note, I wish to highlight the efforts of our partners and champions from each department who have successfully allowed us to integrate sustainability at AfrAsia. SDGs remain one of the most important templates to consider for businesses in need of a model for this changing world. Along with our commitment to the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact since 2015, we have this year reinforced our commitment towards the Global Reporting Initiative Community.
Sustainably Yours,