Ugo Aliogo
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, documented some of the 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 would 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 recognised by several prestigious local and international bodies, becoming a four-time consecutive winner of the Outstanding Business Sustainability Award by Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards, among others.
