As Access Holdings Takes the Lead in Sustainable Finance

As the global community intensifies quest for environmental sustainability, Access Holdings Plc is flying high in pushing the vision of a better future free from environmental pollution and degradation writes Dike Onwuamaeze.
Access Holdings Plc is taking the lead in organisational responsibility to the environment and communities. It is also a topline financial conglomerate with a vision to develop a global community inspired by Africa for the world, with the social responsibilities of environmental consciousness, economic production, and sustainable global growth.
Access Holdings’ environmental consciousness is in tandem with the United Nations in its “The Climate Crisis” report that emphasised that as global concern has continued to put environmental sustainability at the front burner of discussions, it has become increasingly pressing for all and sundry to reevaluate their commitment to issues around sustainability.
With the world’s market of sustainable finance inching closer to a $1.6 trillion mark, Access Holdings has a shot at delivering sound and sustainable banking services that are integrating responsible Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles and practices into its business lines. Its objective is to build a safer and more humane tomorrow, which it does through a holistic sustainability plan that touches on all aspects of its operations and impact on the environment.
Climate Action
As a responsible corporate entity, Access Holdings vests its interest in minimising the overall level of climate change by decreasing the volume of GHG emissions, as well as collaborating with necessary partners in the achievement of the net-zero target.
The Holdco is pursuing the use of solar energy to counter dependence on the costly diesel sources for generators in its operations across its verticals. The purchase of energy-efficient appliances and systems for use in offices across its vertical is another way that it is reducing its carbon footprint.
Renewable Energy and Emission Reduction
As highlighted by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa should invest over $190 billion per year between 2026 and 2030 to ensure that it achieves energy and climate change goals. This magnitude of investment creates an opportunity for responsible corporate entities to play significant roles in realising Africa’s climate change goals and Access Holdings Plc is one of the contenders well positioned to mobilise these needed resources. The Holdco’s business verticals are all conscious of minimising emissions in their operations.
Access Holdings’ Green Initiatives
Recycling and Renewable Energy Investment: Figures from the 2022 annual reports across Access Holdings verticals reported the generation of 8,204,226.99 kWh of energy from renewable sources and the installation of solar ATMs in 696 locations, thereby cutting down the dependency on diesel generators.
In addition to its core banking solution the Holdco across its verticals also ventures into sustainable waste management advocating recycling programmes at 75 various locations across Nigeria, in collaboration with ParallelPoint Consult. The company also supported the repurposing and recycling of waste materials with a combined value of 2,225.987 kg. These included waste cans, paper, plastics, and glass.
Green Bonds: Access Bank Plc, being a banking subsidiary of Access Holdings is the first in Africa to launch a Climate Bond Initiative (a certified corporate green bond used in financing and refinancing of environmentally sustainable projects), raising N15 billion ($41 million) in 2019. It is also the first financial institution in Nigeria to be endorsed with the Equator Principles, implying that any new major project this bank supports must have undergone the Environmental Impact Assessment and have recommendations on how to avoid the negative impact of such a project.
Another bond issuance happened in 2022, when the company raised $50 million channeled into funding areas such as clean energy, green transportation, combating floods and significantly cutting down on GHG emissions and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius
The sum of N14.521 billion was also disbursed to two eligible green assets, including a flood defense system in Victoria Island Lagos, and a solar PV system with a total GHG emission reduction of 17,037.50 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year (tCO2eq/y). With an installed capacity of 21.46 megawatts (MW) the project benefits about 400 000 residents.
Emission Reduction: As part of its efforts to contribute to its parent company’s sustainability focus, it is interesting to know that Access Bank has put into implemented policies and frameworks necessary to mitigate its emission of carbon. It had a target of reducing its GHG emissions by 10 per cent in 2022.
Another remarkable goal by the bank is to reduce emissions by 50 per cent by 2027 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2035. These audacious goals are being implemented in efforts to transition to a net zero emission and mitigate climate change effects.
Preservation of Biodiversity: As part of its overarching environmental corporate social responsibility strategy across its verticals, Access Holdings employs an effective ESRM framework as a means of understanding and controlling various social and environmental risks, particularly in lending activities. Some of the initiatives by the Holdco’s vertical, Access bank include Save Biodiversity in Delta, (which involved the planting of 300 seedlings and education of students across Delta State on how to protect and preserve the endangered species of the plants), and the Go Green Initiative in collaboration with the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency, (Laspark).
To shape the future generations of leaders, the Holdco has been at the forefront of sustainability education. Its Climate Leadership Fellowship is an embodiment of the group’s stand on advocacy and leadership as a means of developing climate resilience. To support students in secondary schools, it established sustainability clubs and created young adult climate leaders. To date, this initiative has let Access Holdings train 13,089 beneficiaries on climate change to foster climate literacy, foster climate change adaptation, and develop a crop of environmentally conscious citizens.
Indeed, Access Holdings Plc is flying high in pushing the vision of a better future free from environmental pollution and degradation. This is well enshrined in its overall corporate strategy and woven into the fabric of every project and initiative undertaken by the company. By including environmental management as a part of its corporate responsibility, Access Holdings is also a worthy example for other corporate entities to mirror, and adopt environmentally sustainable and inclusive practices in their activities.
Posted originally on www.thisdaylive.com. This Day newspaper.