BOP ESG Vision, Mission Statement, Policy Statement,
Green Banking Principles/Objectives with Dimensions for BOP’s Website
Vision
To make Pakistan a Sustainable, Resilient, and Just Green Economy.
Mission Statement
By embedding the dynamic tools of ESG, Green Banking, Green Financing, and Environmental & Social Risk Management in the core banking model, the Bank of Punjab (BOP) aims to facilitate Pakistan’s Just Green economic transition and the Sustainable Development of Pakistan.
Policy Statement
The Bank of Punjab (BOP) is a front-runner in the financial sector of Pakistan for supporting policy initiatives aimed at a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. The adverse environmental impacts of human activities can be witnessed through the deterioration of biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, dry land, water resources and human health. The BOP aims to adopt, promote and implement a Green & Safe workplace, and fulfil our environmental, economic and social responsibilities towards our clients, communities, and the ecosystem.
The purpose of the Green Banking Policy will be to ensure necessary measures to protect the natural environmental while providing service or financing customers as well as to improve in-house environment management through efficient use of various resources at Head Office, Branches and other link offices.
Green Banking is the minimization of the direct and indirect adverse environmental impacts of the banking sector through rationalizing their strategies and priorities pertaining to daily banking operations and services.
In line with State Bank of Pakistan Green Banking Guidelines, the BOP has undertaken: -
BOP Green Banking Objectives and Principles:
To develop a framework to help the reduction of the adverse environmental impact arising from the bank’s daily operations through in-house green management practices;
To ensure the improvement in the overall E&S performance of the bank’s portfolio;
To systematize Green Banking practices which include green business facilitation, bank’s positioning toward green credit/ investments and own impact reduction across the bank;
To specify the roles and responsibilities for Green Banking Adoption;
To encourage the bank to embrace digital banking as a part of Green Banking;
Determine the training and capacity-building requirements for Green Banking Adoption;
To include the environmental consciousness as part of the bank’s culture, reorientation of banking products & services and operations to reduce environmental impacts; and
To encourage the employees, customers, and other stakeholders to develop and adopt Green products & services, technology, and procedures.
Own Impact Reduction: - Green Banking ideology involves Own Impact Reduction through the minimization of resource consumption in daily banking operations. A key ESG objective for BOP is managing its environmental footprint through ‘Own Impact Reduction’ initiatives. These include energy conservation measures, employing energy-efficient technologies, adopting sustainable business practices. reducing resource wastage, promoting 3R’s (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) practices in the workplace, adopting paper conservation measures, decreasing fuel usage by promoting carpool practices during official visits, etc.
Environmental and Social Risk Management: - ESRM is one of the critical pillars of Green Banking adoption and in light of the SBP ESRM Implementation Manual, the Environmental & Social Risk Management (ESRM) system will incorporate the absorption of environmental, social and climate change risks as part of the credit risk methodology in order to assess the existing and new credit portfolio.
The BOP has developed the ESRM Policy through which the Bank will proceed with the integration of ESRM into its credit portfolio. It serves as a course of action for the bank to strategize, implement, and monitor the Environmental & Social (E&S) risks at all levels of the bank by way of setting out the procedures, roles, and responsibilities for the identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring of E&S risks arising from the bank’s credit portfolio.
Green Business Facilitation: - Green Baking requires prioritizing financing to the sectors that promote various environmentally friendly business activities. The BOP’s ESG strategy includes the development of a Green & Sustainable products portfolio along with other parallel finances covering both Assets & Liabilities side with the aim of creating a Green Just Transformation.
Taking into account Pakistan’s emerging environmental and social challenges that entail business opportunities in it, BOP may devise products and services for ease of investment in Eco-friendly business ventures along with other parallel finances.
This applies to the Bank of Punjab, its branches and all allied offices across the globe.