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ABU DHABI/ WAM
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading financial institution, has announced the publication of its debut Sustainable Finance Framework with the report from the Second Party Opinion from ISS Corporate Solutions. The framework establishes criteria and eligibility requirements that determine which projects are labelled “green”, “social”, or “sustainable”.
The framework will determine the eligibility of projects for the bank to finance or refinance, including the issuance of Green, Social and Sustainability Sukuks.
Emphasis is placed on projects with environmental benefits across renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, pollution prevention and control, sustainable water and wastewater management, clean transportation and projects supporting social objectives, including access to healthcare and education, employment generation and affordable housing.
Nasser Al Awadhi, ADIB Group Chief Executive Officer, said, “The development of our Sustainable Finance Framework is an important step on our journey to embedding sustainability as a cornerstone for ADIB. Having clear and structured criteria for assessing the quality of projects from a sustainability standpoint is essential for informing our decision-making capabilities. It is our hope and belief that by integrating ESG risk assessment into the bank’s credit processes, ADIB will provide added value to both our clients and to society.”
ADIB issued its ESG strategy, which is seamlessly integrated into ADIB’s sustainability framework, encompassing key pillars such as maximising positive impact, becoming a lifelong partner of customers, fostering a strong economic footprint, maintaining a people-centric organisational culture, upholding governance excellence, and remaining a steadfast lifelong partner for communities.
ADIB received a Second Party Opinion from ISS Corporate Solutions (ISS) for the framework, which ensured alignment of the framework with the ICMA Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines, as well as the Loan Market Association Green Loan Principles and Social Loan Principles. Standard Chartered Bank is the sole sustainability structuring bank in the development of ADIB’s Framework with the support of ADIB.