​​Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB) participated in the first workshop organized by the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) for the development of Banking Principles to include social and environmental responsibilities. These principles will be the first to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, to lead the banking industry to daily sustainable operations.
CIB-Egypt is amongst 26 other global banking institutions from five continents committed to founding these principles. The existing principles for entities adopt sustainability, but there are no definite overarching principles to bring together and recognize the societal and sustainable development challenges facing the banking industry. In this regard, the Banking Principles derived during the UNEP-FI will serve to capitalize on the influence banks have on other industries, given its intermediary role as finance guru in the market.
CIB has taken this initiative as part of its commitment to the UNEP-FI, having been a member of this renowned platform since 2015. CIB is also the first Egyptian financial institution to join UNEP-FI and to sign the “Statement of Commitment”, which asserts the members’ recognition of the importance of economic development with human welfare and sustainable development goals.
“At CIB, we believe having environmental interests is the core of any sustainable growth. The Bank continues to advance a sustainability bank-wide culture and mindset by considering the social, environmental, and economic impact in its daily operations,” said Mr. Hussein Abaza, CIB Chief Executive Officer and Board Member.
In an official statement, UNEP-FI highlighted that “the process of developing the Principles will include consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, such as civil society organizations, banking associations, regulators and UN bodies”. The launch of draft Principles for global consultation is scheduled during the “UNEP FI Global Roundtable 2018”, held in November, in France.