The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and stakeholders from the banking sector have expressed commitment to the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) for environmental sustainability.
They made the appeal at the opening of a two-day workshop on “The Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles” which began on Wednesday in Lagos.
The Director-General of NCF, Dr. Joseph Onoja, said that the foundation was interested in the environmental and social impact of the (NSBP).
Onoja said that NCF would like to see how far the NSBP was implemented, the challenges and gaps,
“We as NCF engage in this process so that we will see where we can plug in, where we can bring expertise from within and without.
“To be able to help banks, or even the CBN or other groups to be able to push this agenda forward.
“When we have healthy banking principles, we will have a healthy environment and promote environmental conservation, which is our life support system,” Onoja said.
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The Managing Director, of Access Bank PLC, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, while delivering a keynote address, said that sustainability is a philosophy and value system.
Represented by Omobolanle Victor-OLaniyan, Ogbonna said that sustainability dictates that organizational activities must not only benefit its staff and shareholders but also its customers and the wider economy, while at the same time preventing any undue effects on society and the natural environment.
Ogbonna said that the increasing threat of climate change and the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused threats in sustainability to rapidly accelerate with more energy being put into lasting solutions to shape our future.
He noted that the NSBP were guidelines for managing environmental and social risks, footprints, and governance as well as improving human rights and women's economic empowerment, etc.
Mr. Orji Udumezue, the CEO, of Flame Consulting, said that there was widespread commendable progress by most banks by paying more attention to energy consumption, carbon footprints, waste management, paper usage, and water management.
Udumezue said that an area of success on the NSBPs was that Nigerian banks were now being sustainability certified by global authorities in sustainable development.
