5th Sustainability Report 2020-21 of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) summarised the company’s continued progress in advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management activities and performance.
The main axis of NBK’s latest report focuses on the company’s proactive initiatives to protect the health and safety of customers, employees, and community, while simultaneously maintaining the nation’s leading financial services and ensuring the resilience of its business.
The report shares sustainability-related commitments, activities and initiatives, as well as performance and progress against goals.
As it was for companies around the globe, however, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the social dimension of sustainability front and center in 2020.
Since 2008, It has also published annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reports. Originally, these CSR reports focused primarily on community giving initiatives in Kuwait, while also highlighting key environmental programs.
The Report as fifth consecutive comprehensive Sustainability Report. This continues its commitment since 2016 of transparently communicating its approach to the full range of sustainability-related impacts, issues, and opportunities of interest to stakeholders – covering the full range of Environment-Social-Governance (ESG) dimensions.
Sustainability Highlights
Environment
Lowered electricity consumption more than 70%
Reduced water consumption more than 80%
Recycled almost 100 metric tons of paper and 3,600 electronic devices
Social
Achieved 0 recordable or lost-time safety incidents
Provided more than 50,000 hours of employee training
Increased the percentage of women in workforce to 46%
Grew Kuwaitization rate to 73%
Increased active mobile banking customers by 38%
Increased financial contribution to NBK Children’s Hospital 233%
Achieved more than 2 million engagements from the public with COVID-19 information and communications across social media platforms
Governance
Selected for the FTSE4Good ESG index
Initiated process to add 2 independent directors to the Board of Directors (completed in 2021)
Enhanced the role of the Risk and Compliance Committee to assess and develop strategies for Sustainability / ESG risks
Strengthened long-standing commitment to human rights by creating and approving a new Human Rights policy
It has six Sustainability pillars, each with specific goals:
Economic Development
Customers
Corporate Governance
People
Environment
Community
