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ly sustainable practices in the Nigerian Banking sector. The es from an SME and Large Corporate’s perspective. The
NSBP Steering Committee coordinates industry collabora- breakout sessions also provided the opportunity for partic-
tion toward the successful implementation of the NSBPs in ipants to break into smaller groups with the aim of identify-
Nigeria. ing the day to day challenges that SMEs face in the conduct
of their daily business.
Throughout 2017, Access Bank continued to chair the
NSBP Steering Committee. In this capacity, the Bank pro-
vided leadership, guidance and assistance to other Nigerian uNIteD NatIONS eNvIrONMeNt PrOgraMMe – FI-
banks in the implementation of the NSBPs. In addition, the NaNCIaL INItIatIve (uNeP-FI)
Bank also doubled as the Interim Secretariat for the Com-
mittee, thus coordinating successful meetings, executing The UNEP-FI is a collaborative initiative between UNEP and
Committee’s activities, and promoting the adoption of the the global financial sector. UNEP-FI works with its full range
NSBP in the Nigerian Banking industry. We continued to of partners to promote sustainable development through
show our support for new and existing Sustainability cham- the financial industry players. Access Bank is well represent-
pions across the Banking industry, organizing educative ed on the regional representatives’ platform of the UNEP-FI
seminars and trainings that addressed major challenges of in Africa. By virtue of this, we joined other global leaders in
the discipline, further driving Sustainability across financial environmental sustainability to move sustainable finance
institutions in Nigeria. forward. Access Bank serves as the Co-Chair of UNEP-FI,
Africa and Middle East; and is a member of the Global
Steering Committee. As an active member of the UNEP-FI,
tHe uNIteD NatIONS gLOBaL COMPaCt (uNgC) we participate in Annual General Meetings and contribute
to innovative ideas for accelerating sustainable finance in
The UNGC is the world’s largest corporate social respon- emerging markets.
sibility organization with over 9,000 corporate participants
and other stakeholders in over 168 countries with two ob- The 2017 UNEP-FI Africa Regional Round Table (ARRT)
jectives: Mainstream the ten principles in business activities was the first regional round table in Africa which brought
around the world, and catalyse actions in support of broad- together members and actors in the sustainable finance
er UN goals such as the Millennium Development goals community across the African region to raise awareness
(MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). on sustainable finance, promote green economy, as well
as sectors to work together to realise a green, inclusive and
In 2017, Access Bank continued as the co-Chair of United sustainable economy in Africa.
Nations Global Compact Local Network. As co-Chair Ac-
cess Bank supported the process for the successful imple- The ARRT was also designed to connect UNEP-FI mem-
mentation of the UNGC Ethics and Compliance workshop. bers with one another and to provide insights into emerg-
Through this workshop session on Ethics and Compliance, ing knowledge and best practices around key environmen-
the Local Network in conjunction with Saipem Contracting tal, social and governance topics. The event provided an
Nigeria Ltd convened executives and managers from the unprecedented opportunity for the Bank to showcase and
corporate, MSME, social business, investor, and NGO com- learn about leading-edge sustainable finance practices and
munities to equip them with skills to evaluate their com- the future direction of the industry.
pliance programmes as well as address general questions
about the “right” and the “good” in their corporate opera- As member and co-Chair of UNEP-FI, Access Bank par-
tions. ticipated in the launch of the first series of UNEP-FI ARRT
which held from November 27-29, 2017 in Johannesburg,
Furthermore, Access Bank as the co-Chair of the UNGC South Africa. At the ARRT, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan,
Local Network supported the process for the successful Head, Sustainability at Access Bank, presented and shared
implementation of the UNGC Collective Action Training the Bank’s Sustainability transformative stories on Sustain-
and Workshop for SMEs. The Collaboration Lab Workshop able Waste Management to an audience of over 500 lead-
convened executives and managers from the corporate, ers in Sustainable finance across the African region and this
SME, social business, investor, and NGO communities to includes: leaders from financial institutions, industry asso-
catalyze collective action against corruption in Nigeria. The ciations, governments, civil society organisations, regula-
objectives of the workshop included: tory bodies and academia. The presentation made by the
Bank triggered questions, opportunities and answers in the
• Identifying opportunities for starting tangible collec- sustainable finance space.
tive action initiatives
• Exploring innovative collective action models for cor-
porate and SME partnerships CORPORATE ALLIANCE ON MALARIA IN AFRICA
(CaMa)
There were presentations on the role of SMEs in the polit-
ical economy of Nigeria -Corruption Risks and Challeng- CAMA is a group of private sector organisations with busi-

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Annual Report & Accounts 2017