Dear Valued Partners,
At AfrAsia, we believe in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our Sustainability Strategy, instituted in 2017, has laid a strong foundation of our agenda for the coming years, enabling our desire to be impactful in that space.
The Bank pioneered in 2018 the AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit (ABSS) in line with SDG 17 - Partnership for Goals. ABSS is a platform to map the opportunities, challenges and practical steps to shape a sustainable future. Partnerships with global organisations to address environmental, social and economic issues is in the forefront. We expect to be a forerunner in leading change on the sustainability front locally. Another milestone in our journey has been the establishment of the Global Compact Network (Mauritius) Foundation as founder member and Chairperson.
These actions reflect our engagement to promote multi-sectoral dialogues on responsible and sustainable practices across industries. Our aim is to regroup all sustainability professionals in Mauritius to take a unified pledge to work towards a sustainable future.
At the bank, we have established a Sustainability Committee comprising of a designated Sustainability Champions in every department. Their responsibility is to drive a sustainability mindset within his/her department by prompting participation in initiatives. We continually educate our people through awareness programs. We have launched our first sustainability report last year as our first Green Financial Product as part of a transformational journey.
SANJIV BHASIN
Chief Executive Officer
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.
Luvna Arnassalon-Seerungen
Head of Corporate Sustainability & CSR
