Bank ABC is committed to embedding sustainability practices that creates value for both our stakeholders and the planet. We will achieve this through the successful implementation of our sustainability strategy’s three overarching objectives:
Bank ABC is dedicated to reducing the environmental footprint of our operations, suppliers, and the financing we provide to our clients. This is a major focal point of our current and future sustainability initiatives.
We started with a 4-month project to evaluate the environmental footprint of our operations and develop a plan to reduce energy, water and GHG emissions.
We launched a 3-year plan to reduce the energy consumption, water usage and GHG emissions of our major operations, covering Bahrain, London, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and Algeria. In 2024, these operations comprised 88% of our Group’s energy usage, 92% of water consumption and 93% of the GHG emissions generated by our energy and water consumption.
The first phase has already begun and is focused on our Bahrain, London and Egypt operations. These three operations contributed 64% of the Group’s energy use, 75% of our water consumption and 63% of energy and water related emissions. The second phase, beginning in 2026, will capture the remaining three operations of Jordan, Tunisia and Algeria. We expect to start realising the benefits from reduced energy, water and GHG emissions in late 2025.
Our clients face increasing environmental and social pressures from regulations, legal requirements, technological innovations, market demand, and physical risks. These pressures will only intensify as global temperatures rise and the impact from climate change escalates.
To support our clients through this necessary structural shift, we are accelerating our efforts to strengthen our capabilities, driving product innovation and deepening collaboration. By doing so, we can support our clients in mitigating risks and capturing opportunities.
Developed by a cross-function working group, the bottom-up methodology aims to enhance our ability to support our clients by deepening our understanding of their environmental and social risks and their mitigation plans. The approach involves the completion of a client ESG questionnaire by the relationship manager and is applicable to all companies operating in High and Very High environmentally risky industries.
Developed in parallel with our Client ESG Risk Assessment process, it ranks forty-three sectors according to their environmental risk: Very High, High, Moderate and Low. The approach allows for a top-down evaluation of environmental risk at the portfolio level. It also provides valuable information on the environmental and social risks facing each industry and how companies are mitigating those risks.
Several pilot tests were performed to capture valuable feedback and refine the approach. Ahead of the launch, we also rolled out a global training programme to upskill our client-facing teams. The new processes have now been implemented globally, allowing client ESG risk to be incorporated into the credit approval process and client engagement.
Climate risk and financial risk are closely interrelated. Reducing consumption of increasingly scarce resources should lead to greater efficiency while supporting the planet. Our action plans have been deliberately structured to capture the real economic benefits from greater efficiency, innovation and revenues.
Launched in Brazil by teaming up with a local partner to develop and protect over 2m hectares of the Amazon Rainforest. The initiative directs investment via carbon credits to fund sustainable forest development projects.
This solution allows our Brazilian clients to purchase nature-based voluntary carbon credits to neutralise their residual emissions and complement the decarbonisation solutions already utilised across their value chain.
In September 2024, we facilitated a transaction to offset carbon emissions generated by a client’s truck fleet. The carbon credits were sourced from a project based in the Amazon Rainforest, comprising of more than 27,000 hectares of native forest.