• NBK recognized by CDP as the highest-scoring financial institution in Kuwait, receiving a “C” score for environmental transparency
  • NBK takes a leading role in accelerating Kuwait’s transition to a net zero carbon economy
  • Al-Bahar: NBK’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060 fully aligns with Kuwait’s national vision, creating positive synergies between the private sector and public interest.
  • Al-Sager:  NBK sets the standards for sustainable finance in Kuwait’s banking sector by developing a clear strategy on its net-zero pathways and supporting customers through their own transition.

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced today its commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 to support Kuwait's strategic initiative to drive environmental and socio-economic prosperity. This commitment aligns with the State of Kuwait's recent pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

As part of this commitment, National Bank of Kuwait has set interim goals to reduce its gross operational emissions by 25% by 2025. In 2022, NBK aligned its environmental footprint with the GHG Protocol global framework to reinforce its commitment to placing environmental protection at the heart of its future agenda. This year, CDP acknowledged the Group’s progress toward its environmental objectives in the Financial Services Sector’s Climate Change and Forests Categories. The CDP score affirms the Group’s commitment to continuously improve its environmental performance while contributing to the industry’s efforts to accelerate the transition to a net zero economy. Furthermore, NBK is exploring innovative research and development technologies to magnify its reliance on renewable energy beyond 2025, to reach net zero operationally by 2035.

In keeping with its commitment to play a vital role in the region’s transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy, the Group launched its Sustainable Financing Framework, which has been externally verified with a Second Party Opinion (SPO) by S&P Global to confirm alignment with the ICMA 2021 Green, Social, and Sustainability Bond Principles and Guidelines.  Through the Sustainable Financing Framework, the Group strives to respond to the growing demand for sustainable finance and to recognize its responsibility in mobilizing capital to address environmental and social challenges, providing innovative and best-in-class sustainable finance value propositions to assist and enable NBK customers to effectively transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

“Kuwait’s national pledge to carbon neutrality, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, marks a key milestone in the country’s commitment to transitioning to a low carbon economy”, said Mr. Hamad Al-Bahar, Group Chairman. “We fully support Kuwait’s vision, and we are aligning our carbon neutrality commitment with the country’s ambitions as the leading financial institution in Kuwait, thus creating positive synergies between the private sector and public interests. Moreover, we recognize our role at the forefront of enabling economic development and financing the transition”.

“We have always sought to provide exceptional value to all our stakeholders while embracing social and environmental challenges, reinforcing what it truly means to be a trusted leader. We identified our ESG goals and acknowledged our responsibilities to ingrain ESG in the Group’s DNA. Our sustainability journey has evolved through time to reflect our dedication to aligning with the industry best practices and regulations, and responding to investors’ interests. Our commitment to carbon neutrality builds on our pioneering efforts to integrate ESG into our long-term business strategy and operations”. He added.

“As a leading financial institution in the region, we are actively exploring strategies to assess climate change risks and opportunities, lessen our operational impact on the environment, and engage with our customers, pursuing effective change in the real economy as part of our efforts to accelerate net zero carbon transition. Using this approach, we will build and execute transition strategies, assess decisions, and monitor progress to unlock and capitalize on business opportunities. We are defining what it means to be environmentally responsible and establishing the role that financial institutions must play in enabling the transition to a low carbon economy”. Al-Bahar confirmed.

Meanwhile, Mr. Isam Al-Sager, Vice-Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, shared his vision on NBK Group's approach to delivering its ambitious market-leading targets across environmental and social themes over the coming years. In 2022, NBK evolved its ESG Strategy from a six-pillar approach to four interrelated pillars supported by ambitious and well-defined targets to promote regional economic prosperity and sustainable development. “Although ESG has long been a key element of our success, the Group’s transformed strategy embeds ESG across all of our operations and business while aligning with the dynamic market conditions and our stakeholders’ expectations.’, Al-Sager said. “We set the standards for sustainable finance in Kuwait’s banking sector by supporting our clients through their own transition through designing and delivering tailored advisory services and providing them with innovative transition finance value propositions. We are convinced that the Group’s plans will only be achieved in partnership with our clients and stakeholders”.

“On the operational front, our redefined approach closely monitors our activities, while exploring new opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint through the adoption of renewable and clean energy solutions”. Al-Sager added. “This commitment underscores NBK’s pioneering efforts in accelerating the adoption of sustainable practices, and resulted in earning a score of “C” for the Group’s disclosure through CDP, making us one of the highest-scoring financial institutions in the GCC and the only financial institution who submitted this disclosure in Kuwait”. Al-Sager concluded.

Through its solid positioning, NBK strives to play a key role in driving sustainable development in the region and has already started developing its interim targets. Furthermore, combining its Carbon Neutrality commitment with accountability and transparency, NBK will be communicating, over the coming 18-24 months, its pathways and scientifically aligned strategic goals to achieve its carbon neutral by 2060 ambition.

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Disclaimer on Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements and commitments, which reflect the Group’s best efforts to achieve its targets related to such statements and commitments. Actual results may differ partially or materially from the plans described herein based on several factors considered and assumptions made. These factors include; regulatory frameworks, International commitments and alliances, availability of data and accessibility of new technologies, among other factors.