Walk the talk

Mashrur Arefin

Managing Director & CEO, City Bank Limited

Sustainable finance has become one of the mainstream considerations of City Bank. City Bank is a good contributor in financing sustainable rural agri-businesses and women entrepreneurs through its small and micro financing. The bank has also attained core banking sustainability with robust financial metrics and continued CSR initiatives.

City Bank established 32 help desks in different locations to scale up sustainable finance. Our "External Communication Mechanism", first of its kind in Bangladesh, enables external parties to lodge complaints in bank's website if affected by its customer's activity having environmental and social adverse impacts.

In view of SDGs, and to bring greater momentum in banking sector, I propose a "Sustainable Banking Alliance" among the leading banks, which will play a critical role in improving the consistency and raising the ambitions of Sustainable and Green Finance initiatives.

Mohammed Shawkat Jamil

Managing Director, United Commercial Bank PLC

United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) has been committed to eco-friendly financing since the last decade. The bank has adopted Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) guidelines of the Bangladesh Bank and incorporated it as an integral part of credit risk methodology.

The bank has extended green financing facility to RMGs (for green industry and remediation financing), green brick fields, industrial waste management, etc. based on the environmental assessment. The management took initiatives to include marginalised farmers under direct financing while attaining agro-financing target.

UCB has already signed agreement with Bangladesh Bank to avail funds from the Green Transformation Fund, Technology Development/Up-gradation Fund, and Refinance Scheme for Green Products/Initiatives/Projects.

M. Jamal Uddin

CEO &  Managing Director, IDLC Finance Limited

In 2007, we became a member of UNGC and decided to align our business practices to the UNGC principles. Later in 2010, IDLC became a member of United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives (UNEP FI), and from 2019 we became a signatory of four major initiatives offered by UNEP FI: 1. Principles of Responsible Banking (PRB); 2. Collective Commitment to Climate Action (CCCA); 3. Tobacco-Free Portfolio; and 4. Net-Zero Banking Alliance.

IDLC has adopted Green Banking Policy in 2012 and have been successfully implementing Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS). 

The future plan for a sustainable portfolio includes carbon footprint analysis by a professional entity to form initiatives to neutralise adverse impacts.

Dr. Mohammed Haider Ali Miah

Managing Director & CEO, Exim Bank

Exim Bank has already branded a comprehensive policy framework in the style "Exim Bank Policy Guidelines for Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM)". Exim Bank opened up sustainable finance packages worth BDT 588 crore during the first half of the year in spite of the global economy being locked by Covid-19. This is a good sign of its long-practiced sustainability measures.

Conversion of sustainable, green financing in phases and diversification of future financial involvements as to service delivery are two key objectives for Exim Bank, while transformation from hand-operated to tech-driven means, with regards to housekeeping as the core strategy for the bank to relieve the environment of further degradation.

Mohammed Monirul Moula

Managing Director & CEO, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited

Being an ethical and socially responsible bank, IBBL always gives utmost priority towards environmental-friendly and socially desirable investment focusing on people, planet and profit. We ensure proper waste management system and effluent treatment plants in our invested projects. We do not finance projects which carry threat to the environment and human health.

We have been focusing to increase investment in eco-friendly and labour-intensive growth sectors following green banking rules. We have also been implementing financing under the Bangladesh Bank's Green Transformation Fund. IBBL looks forward to increase rural investments, following the rules and guidelines of the central bank for sustainable financing.

Mominul Islam

Managing Director & CEO, IPDC Finance Limited

IPDC, with a 40-year history of trust, refinement, and fiduciary relationship with the stakeholders, holds the value of sustainability at the core of its being. A sustainable finance committee has been established to sustain this status, and an overall assessment of our credit portfolio was completed with a Germany-based world-renowned consulting group.

We are committed to becoming the leading green certified organisation while we aspire to have a significant credit portfolio under "Green Financing" by 2025.

We plan to introduce environmentally friendly, low-cost household solutions such as solar panels for electricity, through CSR. In the future, IPDC intends to issue a sustainable bond for financing impactful projects.

Abul Kashem Md. Shirin     

Managing Director & CEO, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited

Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) values environment-friendly financing to keep the world pollution-free and arrest global warming.

With this in mind, we have funded environment-friendly projects and businesses under the Green and Sustainable Financing schemes with around 24,000 million taka.

In future, we will focus more on financing green projects and businesses, primarily in the rural areas, to protect the environment in the most remote parts of the country. We have planned that the financing of CMSMEs will be around 50 percent of the total sustainable financing budget. As a whole, sustainable financing will be 15 percent of total loans and advances of DBBL.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman

Managing Director & CEO, Mutual Trust Bank Limited

Mutual Trust Bank Ltd. (MTB) is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact.

At MTB, we avoid financing in sectors that cause environmental degradation or have adverse effects on society. We also have a Board-approved environmental and social (E&S) safeguard policy that sets out what we need to do to maintain sustainability. We have streamlined the implementation of our E&S risk management process. Our credit appraisal process also has specific criteria that need to be fulfilled, such as "no environmental degradation", "no fire hazards", etc.

In the future, we will enhance our digital capabilities to lower carbon emissions.

Md. Arfan Ali

President & Managing Director, Bank Asia Limited

Some important factors we take into consideration are the environment, economic condition, local rules and regulations, and our values. Between 2014 and 2015, we decided to see how we could uphold these factors while continuing to do business. Considering the importance of this issue, Bank Asia started Sustainability Reporting under Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework to focus more on sustainable financing and sustainable initiatives.

Whenever we are investing in a project, we take environmental, social and economic impact as a part of our risk analysis and investment decisions. This ensures that we continue to engage in activities that are sustainable for both the society and the environment.

Farman R Chowdhury

Managing Director & CEO, Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited

Considering the priority and future impact of SDG, we at Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd. have adopted bank-specific policies in line with Sustainable Finance Policy 2020 and Environment and Social Risk Management (ESRM) guidelines.

Our commitment is towards sustainability and causing no harm to the nature. As a result, we have participated in various schemes for green products and also subscribed to "Ijarah Sukuk", a green investment. We have adopted a separate mission for highlighting green banking, evaluating and segregating our portfolio accordingly and redefining our strategy to finance more green and sustainable products.

Hassan O. Rashid

Managing Director & CEO, Prime Bank Limited

PBL has been a flagbearer of the clean-energy revolution by diversifying its Green Financing book through projects such as effluent treatment plants (ETP), waste heat recovery system and LEED-certified factory buildings. PBL has also been the pioneer in obtaining refinance from Green Transformation Fund of Bangladesh Bank, through which it has financed multiple export-oriented manufacturing companies.

Addressing the SDGs, PBL shall continue to focus on re-orienting its investments towards more sustainable technologies and businesses.

PBL has aspirations to develop green finance instruments such as issuance of green bonds and hybrid capital to finance their lending portfolio and support the development of the market.