CBN’s Nigeria Sustainable Banking Awards
Access Bank PLC has received top honours at the inaugural Nigeria Sustainable Banking Awards convened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in recognition of its outstanding success and leadership in Nigeria’s sustainable development.
Access Bank emerged the first place winner across all four categories during the award presentation which took place in Lagos on December 9th, 2017. The categories are as follows: Sustainable Bank of the Year, Sustainable Transaction of the Year (Oil and Gas Sector) – for a transaction the bank conducted with Neconde Energy Ltd., Sustainable Transaction of the Year (Agriculture) – for a transaction the bank conducted with Coscharis Group Ltd. and Excellence in Women Economic Empowerment.
Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards
Access Bank Plc has just scored a rare repeat performance at the 2017 Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards in Germany by receiving the “Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement Award 2017”.
The award was presented to Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe in Karlsruhe, Germany’s most sustainable city a year after Access Bank made history as the first African bank to receive this prestigious accolade. The award was received barely a week after Nigeria’s foremost rating agency, Agusto & Co upgraded the Bank’s rating from A+ to AA-
The award conveners presented the accolade in recognition of Access Bank’s outstanding success in incorporating economic, social and environmental aspects into its corporate strategy and business processes. This prize also brings global recognition to the Bank’s impressive success in holistically embedding sustainability across all aspects of operations within the financial institution.
The award ceremony which held on July 13th, 2017, was attended by CEOs of leading international financial institutions, senior executives of other winning institutions and top German government officials.
The Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards (SERAs)
It was a night of well deserved recognition for Access Bank as the institution roped in multiple awards at the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards (SERAs) including awards for: Best Company In Climate Action; Most Outstanding CSR Practitioner Of The Year – received by Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Head, Sustainability at Access Bank; Sustainability Champion of the Year – given to Dr. Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO, Access Bank; Best company CSR//Sustainability West Africa; and the highest honour of the night – The Most Socially Responsible Company of The Year (Overall Winner). These awards were presented to Access Bank in recognition of its strong sustainability ethos, and its progress and commitment to embedding sustainability in its business operations whilst driving sustainable development across communities it serves.
Access Bank began its sustainability journey in 2008 and has led various initiatives in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. In 2012, the bank championed the implementation of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles, which have now been adopted nationwide.