The Banking Executive Magazine - January 2023 Issue

NBK Bank of Kuwait is prepared to re- spond to the increasing demand for environmental transparency from fi- nancial institutions, customers, and policymakers. In its disclosure, NBK shared the results of returning to more normal working patterns as employees moved into its new LEED GOLD HQ building and used 2021 as its new environmental perform- ance baseline, to which we will compare our improvements in the coming years. We also shared our continued long-standing practice of annually assessing and reporting our environmental performance, includ- ing our energy and water consump- tion, waste, and resource use, and greenhouse gas GHG emissions. Moreover, NBK highlighted how cli- mate change presents risk and op- portunities for the organization by examining in detail the best role for the bank to play in supporting our environmental and societal efforts to overcome this challenge and to grow the bank in the wisest pursuit of spe- cific opportunities. NBK’s primary role will be its financing efforts to ef- fectively respond to this challenge and increase its focus on climate change in our risk management processes. Additionally, in its disclo- sure, NBK transparently covered en- vironmental commitments as a result of its publicly available Sustainable Financing Framework. These assur- ances included developing internal targets to reduce our gross opera- tional emissions by 25% by the year 2025 and NBK’s ambition to inte- grate critical ESG issues into the busi- ness, culture and operations, thereby advancing the transition to a sustain- able and low carbon economy and contributing to achieve Kuwait’s sus- tainability vision. On this occasion, Mr. Isam Al-Sager, NBK Group Vice-Chairman and CEO Group, said: “Today, we are witness- ing a new milestone in embracing sustainability that we started years back by being listed among the insti- tutions disclosing the environmental impact of their operations through CDP, the world’s leading environ- mental disclosure platform.” “This listing furthers NBK’s commit- ment to adopting greater trans- parency in disclosing the environmental impact of all its oper- ations. This comes in line with focus- ing on embedding ESG standards into all its activities and reinforcing its contribution to supporting the transition towards a sustainable, low- carbon economy,” he indicated. Al-Sager added: “Our listing in the CDP, coupled with the recent launch of our Sustainable Financing Frame- work, will further strengthen NBK’s accessibility to global capital mar- kets, where it is already highly trusted and respected.” “We are adamant to continue pro- gressing towards advancing sustain- able finance and responsible banking practices at the core of our opera- tions and currently exploring tech- nologies to support our aspiration to become net zero operationally by 2035,” Al-Sager continued. “We continue to be committed to playing a responsible role in support- ing global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change risks. To this end, we have set specific measurable and reportable targets, in line with our endeavors to integrate climate-related considera- tions in our future business model,” he noted. On his part, Dexter Galvin, Global Director of Corporations and Supply Chains at CDP, commented, “An- other year of extreme weather, in- cluding floods, droughts and record temperatures, has shown us that cli- mate change is already posing a real and increasing risk to companies and their supply chains. Companies have a fundamental role to play in secur- ing a sustainable net-zero, deforesta- tion-free and water-secure world. It is only through measuring their envi- ronmental impact, risks and opportu- nities that they can manage them and prepare for the future. By disclosing through CDP, National Bank of Kuwait has taken a vital first step. I look forward to their continued ded- ication to transparency and action for the benefit of all people and the planet.” It is worth mentioning that National Bank of Kuwait is one of the leading financial institutions in the region in terms of embracing sustainability practices, with major contributions appreciated by international institu- tions. This includes receiving the Leadership in Energy and Environ- mental Design (LEED) Gold Certifi- cate for its new Headquarters, recognizing the improvement achieved in all measured and re- ported environmental metrics includ- ing reducing GHG emissions, and increasing recycled paper and plas- tic. NBK was also listed on Refinitiv AFE Low Carbon Select Index in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Furthermore, National Bank of Kuwait is the largest financial institu- tion in Kuwait and has actual pre- dominance in the commercial banking sector. The bank enjoys one of the highest credit ratings among all banks in the region, collectively from global rating agencies: Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch. CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 680 finan- cial institutions with over $130 tril- lion in assets, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate pro- curement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental im- pacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Nearly 20,000 organizations around the world dis- closed data through CDP in 2022, in- cluding more than 18,700 companies worth half of global mar- ket capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions. ISSUE 169 JANUARY 2023 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 53