Page 50 - ACCESS BANK ANNUAL REPORTS_eBook

sustainability policies and strategies through community the ‘Family Savings Scheme.’ Following this, the ‘Save To-
outreaches, our employee volunteering initiatives, partner- day, Take Tomorrow’ campaign was launched to stimulate
ships with community-facing Non-Governmental Organ- a savings culture amongst families. The scheme was initiat-
isations (NGOs), charitable donations and sponsorships. ed to give customers a boost in their savings. This is in line
With our regulators, we communicate through - regulato- with the Bank’s commitment to promoting a savings culture
ry consultations, Industry working groups and committee among the populace. The ‘Family Savings Scheme’ was de-
meetings, onsite meetings/supervisory visits by represen- signed to encourage families to save together and enjoy
tatives of regulatory bodies and so on. exclusive privileges such as high interest rates and family
rewards while they continue to enjoy the confidentiality of
Generally, the Bank regularly reports to its stakeholders their banking relationship and manage their accounts as
on all its sustainable development initiatives. We also pro- unique individuals. The Scheme also provides access to
duce periodic reports to other voluntary, regulatory bodies, people who are currently excluded from financial services
coalitions and organizations such as the UNGC, Equator while promoting capital accumulation and investment
Principles, UNPRI, IFC, DEG, AfDB, FMO to whom we are boom. Currently, over 26,522 families are banked under
either active members of or from whom we receive inter- the initiative.
national financing and other regulatory support. We report
half-yearly, and as required, in compliance with the Nigeria
Sustainable Banking Principles in the bi-annual NSBP re-
ports to the CBN. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL PERFOR-
MANCE

Sustainable Environmental Management forms part of Ac-
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND NATION- cess Bank’s strategy and business model. Hence, we are
AL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT committed to a clean environment and the fight against
climate change. This commitment is reflected in various
At Access Bank, our goal is to facilitate and finance sus- aspects of our business process, such as analysis of the so-
tainable economic growth – leading the way in sustainable cial and environmental risks of our financing activities and
finance, financial inclusion, enterprise development and measurement of our environmental footprint.
leading sustainability regulation and thought leadership. We
are dedicated to creating shared benefits by delivering val- In continuation of our commitment to sustainability, the
ue adding financial products and services to enterprise and Bank took careful measures and implemented appropriate
personal customers to drive positive economic outcomes. systems to enable us comply with all environmental and
social regulations relating to our banking activities and op-
At the heart of our strategy is the strong belief that we can erations in 2017. We continued to work towards improving
finance the future of our numerous stakeholders – cus- our sustainability programmes and reducing our environ-
tomers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders. The mar- mental footprints. As a result, the Bank did not incur any
kets in which we operate are among the most challenging fines, sanctions, penalties, queries – financial or non-finan-
in the world, with multiple developmental issues. Whilst cial – owing to non-compliance to national environmental
these challenges create opportunities, we are devoting our or social laws, voluntary codes and standards of corporate
resources to achieving results and making impact through sustainability to which we are subscribed.
the power of finance. As a result, we promote access to
banking along with social inclusion, while contributing to the In 2017, we expanded the Bank’s waste recycling initiative
development of the communities where we are present to 37 new locations, achieving an impressive 92.64% re-
and preserving the environment. duction in waste-to-landfill at the locations where the ini-
tiative is being implemented. The Bank also achieved a fur-
In 2017, we proactively continued to grow our national and ther 24.9% reduction in diesel consumption (year to date)
international banking footprints by ensuring that the ‘un- with the review of its early shut-down policy in 2017 from
banked’ in Nigeria and Africa gain access to the financial 8.00pm to 7.00pm at the Head Office and annexes. Our
sector in due time through the development of products ‘No-Paper’ initiative also facilitated a 39.79% reduction in
and services aimed at addressing extreme financial illitera- paper usage. These strategic initiatives enabled us achieve
cy. Through our strategic and innovative initiatives, we have greater levels of effectiveness in our environmental man-
been able to deploy money management skills to bene- agement performance.
fit the financially-excluded segments. Our objective is to
help reduce poverty, increase economic opportunities and
boost national savings.
Sustainable Waste Management

In 2017, we expanded our waste recycling initiative beyond
Save today, take tomorrow Initiative our Head Office and Annexes to facilitate improved dispos-
al and management of waste materials across our various
In 2017, the Bank unveiled a new savings scheme, tagged locations in the country. The Bank now recycles waste from

50 Access BAnk Plc
Annual Report & Accounts 2017