While the ESG story has been progressing at SAB for some time, 2022 has seen a significant step forward where the organisation’s intention on ESG has formally come together in the form of an ESG strategy. The Bank is broadening the scope of its strategy from profitable growth to equitable growth, keeping environmental and social factors front and centre. SAB has always been known for good governance, transparency, and openness, and this year the Bank focused on engagement with existing relationships across SAB’s stakeholder universe on social, environmental, and governance commitments that have been made.
Our ESG strategy
This year, we have announced our new environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy. This followed much reflection and contemplation on how SAB could make an environmentally astute socio-economic impact to support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and Net-Zero ambitions. ESG is now a central pillar at the core of our strategy and major steps are being taken to create awareness and embed ESG into the minds of our employees across all levels and throughout our banking operations and products. We recognise that to achieve these long-term national and international goals is a journey, and we are marking 2022 as the start of our journey. As we integrate ESG into the DNA of our business, it will continually shape our business priorities and Stakeholder relationships. Our eventual aim is to broaden all of our decision-making beyond economic factors and take people and planet into account for the longevity of our organisation.
Key ESG milestones
Economic
Environment
SAB’s pioneering approach to Sustainable Finance has entailed structuring a range of financial products for innovative sustainability impacts, especially as existing clients and potential clients across the Kingdom clamour for green finance solutions. SAB is the first Saudi Arabian institution to develop a Green Deposit investment option and, in partnership with HSBC, we have made seeding deposits into major regional green initiatives.
Social
As espoused in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, SAB believes that no one should be left behind in the transition to sustainability. We have extended our social programmes to include customers, employees, university students, career-seekers, the para-abled, and underprivileged citizens, among others. At SAB, every Saudi citizen deserves an equal chance of living better and reaching their financial goals, even if hindered by adverse circumstances.
Governance
SAB prides itself with market-leading governance practices, with ongoing efforts for continuous improvement and adoption of international best practice. SAB has a distinguished and diverse Board of Directors, where Board members hold deep experience on financial and nonfinancial sectors. In addition, SAB is the only Bank in Saudi Arabia with a female Board Chair, differentiating itself from historic norms. The Board has a keen focus on diversity, with firm intentions to appoint female members at Board, Board committee, SAB subsidiary, and management levels, to set the tone from the top.
