Role in our Society

As a truly African brand, we have a vested interest in supporting Africa’s long-term environmental sustainability. We recognise our continent’s vulnerability to climate change, and together with like-minded partners, we are creating sustainable and value-creating solutions to some of Africa’s greatest environmental challenges.

We are helping to mitigate climate change risk in Africa through a focused environmental sustainability programme. With various progressive climate-linked initiatives, we are contributing towards ensuring that future generations have the natural resources available to live an equal, if not better, way of life as current generations.

We adhere to the Equator Principles, a global risk management framework whereby we determine, assess and manage environmental and social risk in all projects. In 2019 we became a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRBs) which set out the global banking industry’s role in helping to meet the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

We place environmental and social sustainability at the heart of our culture and operations. We encourage the sustainable management of our physical assets, progressive lending practices and economic activities that promote economic prosperity, environmental protection, and social justice for current and future generations. This includes

• Managing climate and associated social risks.
• Managing Absa’s direct ecological impact.
• Providing innovative, sustainable financial products and advisory services to support a just transition to a low-carbon economy.
• Employing enhanced assessment criteria for capital allocation decisions, which would incorporate climate change, positive impact and our environmental, social and governance commitments.

Read more about our commitment to environmental sustainability in the 2020 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report