SUSTAINABILITY AT AFRASIA BANK LIMITED

Sustainability Timeline

Our Sustainability Journey started way back in 2015 with our first reporting to the United Nations Global Compact. An initiative which we have upheld continuously since then.

As one of the pillars of AfrAsia’s “Bank Different” philosophy, sustainability is steadily being integrated in the Bank’s culture. The pursuit of sustainable practices is an ongoing process, which is being advocated by the Sustainability Champions of the Bank.

  • 2015

    Introduction of sustainability reporting in annual report

    First reporting to UNGC

    Development of our 4 sustainability pillars

  • 2016

    Enhanced status for UNGC

    Enhancement of our social & relationship and natural capitals through the creation of AfrAsia Foundation

    Sustainability Reporting on SDGs in annual report

    Sponsored film “Demain”

  • 2017

    Official launch of AfrAsia Foundation and AfrAsia School

    Participation in the SDG conference in India

    Working on developing Sustainability in our Integrated Report

    Research & Development of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

    Development of a page dedicated to Sustainability on our website

    Health Awareness Initiatives (Movember, Women’s Health Month – free screening for staff)

  • 2018

    Head of Corporate Sustainability & CSR nominated as chairperson of the Global Compact Advisory Committee to Mauritius

    Participation in UN conference (Making Global Goals Local Business) in Argentina

    Health Awareness Initiatives (Movember, Women’s Health Month – free screening for staff)

    Launch of Global Compact Network Mauritius with AfrAsia Bank as Chair

    Launch of first AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit

    Achieved Advanced Level on UNGC for Integrated Report 2018

    Participation in UN Conference (Making Global Goals Local Business) in Morocco

  • 2019

    Participation in Salon ProDurable

    GRI community member

    2-days awareness workshop for sustainability champions

    Launch of ABSS Breakfast Meet in Johannesburg

    Participation in the creation of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) report of Mauritius

Materiality Matrix

Materiality Assessment [GRI 101]

Last year marked the beginning of AfrAsia’s engagement with its stakeholders on sustainability topics. One of the first steps was the Materiality Assessment, designed to gather insights on how important specific Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues are to our stakeholders. These insights are then used to guide our sustainability priorities, as well as reporting and communication needs.

The detailed methodology is given in last year’s Integrated Report, which can be found online at https://www.afrasiabank.com/media/3332/integrated-report-2018.pdf on page 117 - 119 and the results are as follows:

Materiality Assessment 01IMPORTANCE OF TOPIC STAKEHOLDERSEXTENT TO WHICH TOPIC IS BEING ADDRESSED AT AFRASIAData ConfidentialityLabour & Human Rights LawIT LandscapeEthics and ComplianceCareer Management & TrainingMarket ShareCustomer SatisfactionPaper CommunicationGreen Supply ChainDiversityAnti-Discrimination practicesBrandingHealth & SafetyProfitAfrAsia Foundation/CSRSupply Chain and Labour & Human RightsEnergy ConsumptionQuality of our servicesWaste ManagementGreen FinanceEmployee Welfare

Progress achieved:

Our HR department focused on Career Management & Training, which resulted in an increase in the total number of training hours for our staff. We also designed various types of training to better suit the needs of our people including the revamping of our induction programme for the newcomers amongst others.

The way forward:

As a result of the materiality assessment, the sustainability department will focus on two key areas for the financial year 2019-2020:

  1. Ethics and Compliance – A compliance week will be organized in collaboration with the compliance department to promote awareness on this topic within the Bank; and
  2. Green Supply Chain – Together with our Facilities and Procurment department, we will look into ways to revamp our supply chain.

Last year’s materiality assessment was online based. Going forward, we will conduct this exercise through workshops and debriefing sessions with our key stakeholders. This will allow us to engage with them in a better manner. Relevant departments will also be invited to the debriefing sessions so that they understand how to use the results of the materiality assessment to adapt their future strategy.

Our Strategy

AfrAsia Bank has been gradually integrating principles of sustainability into its operations since 2015. We believe in adopting an integrated approach and our strategy takes into consideration Financial, Human, Social & Relationship, Natural, Intellectual and Manufactured Capitals.

Our 2021 strategy is based on the 4 pillars of sustainability, which is further developed into 6 core focus areas.

Our Strategy01Advocating SustainabilityPeoplePlanetInvestor RelationsResearch & DevelopmentSustainable BrandBeing an employer of choiceBuilding positive links with the communities around usMeasuring and reducing our environmental impactFocusing on client centricity and qualityWorkplace Responsibility: Human CapitalMarketplace Responsibility: Financial, Manufactured, Intellectual CapitalsSocial Responsibility: Social and Relationship CapitalEnvironmental Responsibility: Natural Capital

For the first couple of years, we made the conscious decision to focus on developing the workplace and social pillars to change the mindset of our staff and instill a culture of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. The next phase is the development of Marketplace and Environmental Responsibilities, which is currently ongoing at the Bank.

The way forward is to set quantitative targets in order to measure our progress with regards to the different initiatives undertaken.

Pillars

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Pillars Main Objective GRI Standards SDGs
Workplace Responsibility
(Human Capital)

Main Objective

We aim to continue focusing on our greatest asset—our people—and foster an environment that promotes teamwork and innovation. We also strive to provide our staff with competitive salary rate, great benefits and a healthy work-life balance.

GRI Standards

GRI 401

GRI 403

GRI 404

GRI 405

GRI 406

SDGs

SDG 3

SDG 4

SDG 5

SDG 8

SDG 16

Pillars

Marketplace Responsibility
(Financial Capital, Manufactured Capital,
Intellectual Capital)

Main Objective

As a financial institution, we have a key role to play in transitioning towards a low-carbon economy. We want to reduce our direct and indirect impact and also give our customers an opportunity to invest in climate solutions.

GRI Standards

GRI 201

GRI 202

GRI 204

SDGs

SDG 8

SDG 11

SDG 13

SDG 16

Pillars

Environmental Responsibility (Natural Capital)

Main Objective

As part of our strategy, we aim to focus on environmental issues that are material to the Bank, which includes:

  • Reduction in paper and electricity consumption; and
  • responsible waste management. As the Bank is expanding rapidly, a baseline to measure KPIs is not recommended at this stage but we are still monitoring same.

GRI Standards

GRI 302

GRI 306

SDGs

SDG 12

SDG 13

SDG 17

Pillars

Social Responsibility
(Social & Relationship Capital)

Main Objective

Through AfrAsia Foundation, the Bank is also focusing on empowering vulnerable groups. AfrAsia School, being the main project of the Foundation, we strive to provide continued support to our beneficiaries even after they have left our pre-primary school, through various initiatives.

GRI Standards

GRI 203

GRI 413

SDGs

SDG 1

SDG 2

SDG 3

SDG 4

SDG 10