EBL hosts training session on sustainable finance

To enhance knowledge and capacity in sustainable finance Eastern Bank PLC.( EBL) organized a training session for its employees at the bank's head office in Gulshan in the city today. 

The session titled "Navigating sustainable finance: reporting, ESRM guidelines, and green finance" was addressed among others by Chowdhury Liakat Ali, Director; Shakhawat Hossan, Ahmed Zubaer Mahbub and Md. Abu Rayhan, Joint Directors of Sustainable Finance Department (SFD) of Bangladesh Bank. Speakers highlighted various aspects of sustainable finance including sustainability reporting, environmental and social risk management (ESRM) guidelines, and green refinance schemes.

Ali Reza Iftekhar, Managing Director of EBL in his speech said, "With climate change situation getting worse, banks in Bangladesh need to make sustainability a top priority without further delay. We must care for the environment and society as much as making profits."

"For us in EBL, being sustainable means an opportunity to care for and contribute to our communities to whom we owe a lot. I urge each of you to take the lessons learned today on sustainability and integrate them into your respective roles. Together, we have the power to drive meaningful change and build a more sustainable future for generations to come," Iftekhar concluded.

As a responsible financial institution, EBL adopted the Environmental and Social Risk Matrix in credit practice in April 2009 and was the first bank to provide green finance to Rahim Afroz Accumulator to set up a 12MW PV solar panel assembly plant back in 2009. In the last 15 years, EBL has developed investment relationships with more than 10 Development Financial Institutes (DFIs) to ensure global standards in terms of environmental and social risk management.

In 2022, EBL initiated a pilot project on Carbon Accounting in collaboration with DEG and their partner Joint Impact Model Foundation (JIM). In 2023, using the JIM, EBL estimated portfolio level carbon emission, number of jobs supported, and GDP contribution resulting from financing. In 2023, green finance and sustainable finance by EBL accounted for BDT 1,179 crore and 9253 crore respectively which means a year-on-year growth of 443% and 116% in the respective areas.