By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Central Bank of Nigeria has urged commercial banks to adopt Sustainability Standards Certification Initiative (SSCI) to boost sustainable banking principles.
The apex bank said this at a roundtable in Abuja on Wednesday which it jointly hosted with the European Organization for Sustainable Development.
The event, aimed at creating world-class sustainable banking and finance through embracing holistic sustainability standards for senior executives of commercial banks.
The CBN Governor on Sustainable Banking, Dr Aisha Mahmood commended three Nigeria financial institutions namely Access Bank Plc, Development Bank of Nigeria and Bank of Industry for their efforts in driving the implementation of sustainable principles in the financial sector.
She said Access Bank is the first African commercial bank to be sustainability certified by the EOSD in 2020 while the Development Bank of Nigeria became the first Development Financial institution and the second in Africa to be sustainability certified.
She said, ‘I am positive that this workshop will motivate other financial institutions to adopt the SSCI to build resilient economies that work for the environment, businesses and the society.
Access Bank Deputy Manager Director said that the programme is extremely timely and presents an opportunity to discuss sustainability in line with global best practices.
She said the event provides a platform to further reflect on how the Nigeria financial sector has embedded sustainability and the subsequent actions required for a good performance.
She stated, “There have been conscious efforts to embrace partnership, develop initiatives, policies, and regulations to address issues such as climate change, inequality, human rights to mention a few.
“In achieving the overall development agenda, getting financing right and sustainable banking is very critical. In fact, without this, the global community will not be able to meet the development goals by 2030.
“For us at Access Bank, our commitment to sustainability has yielded great benefits, we have made significant progress in embedding sustainability and a core of our business decisions, operations and practices thereby impacting lives positively now and in the future.”