Ramallah-(BNEWS)- Bank of Palestine Group, has become an official Signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) – a single framework for a sustainable banking industry developed through a partnership between banks worldwide and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
The Principles are the leading framework for ensuring that banks’ strategy and practice align with the vision laid out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. Banks that have signed the Principles commit to be ambitious in their sustainability strategies, working to mainstream and embed sustainability into the heart of their business while equally focusing on cutting-edge sustainable finance.
Bank of Palestine Group together with its Islamic subsidiary the Arab Islamic Bank, by signing the UN Principles for Responsible Banking; effectively join ~50% of the global banking industry who are signatories of the Principles committing to measuring and reporting the environmental and social impact resulting from their business activities. The bank and its subsidiary a signatory will also equally commit to implement targets and KPIs in order to reduce negative environmental impacts while encouraging environmentally and climate-friendly projects.
Bank of Palestine Group through this membership joins more than 300 partner banks worldwide sharing best practices and providing joint insights as to the Principles for Responsible Banking.
Hashim Shawa, Chairman of Bank of Palestine Group, expressed his pride in being the first banking group in Palestine to sign the Principles for Responsible Banking with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
"This important commitment builds upon our escalating sustainability strategy, that provides further evidence of our serious approach to implement sustainability practices at the group level while helping to raise awareness about the environment in the country. Palestine is a fragile economy with political challenges, however, despite these challenges, we remain committed to our own values and as such, are happy to join peer banks and partners in committing to global values and through the Principles for Responsible Banking".
Tafeeda Jarbawi, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors Sustainability Committee said, "We have approached sustainability at the bank by focusing on governance first, to ensure we implement the strategy with strong support. We have committed to measuring and reporting our impact through publishing the first sustainability report for the year 2021 according to GRI standards. We are keen to work with UNEP FI and our partner member banks in advancing our commitments to action plans meeting the common targets in 2030 in accordance with our own commitments and those of the Principles for Responsible Banking".
