Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is strategically important for stakeholders and brings value to an organisation. Adoption of ESG guidelines is increased around the world and in the Gulf region, said officials during an online event.
The first event in Bloomberg’s Middle East ESG Series discussed ‘The Future of ESG in Qatar’ and focused on ESG investing, looking at the global view on international practices, strategies and how organisations are embracing ESG disclosure.
Leo Chi Wai Tong, Head of Sustainability, QNB discussed about the bank’s approach to ESG, “At QNB we started our sustainability journey around five to six years ago by establishing the sustainability team within the group strategy division and we published our first sustainability report for full year 2018 and have done that annually ever since. In Qatar, in the region we are relatively mature in this space which is reflected in some of our ESG ratings,” he said.
He elaborated that there are three areas for banks and corporate to focus on ESG. “We see that it is strategically important, and it is important for our stakeholders, and it is a right thing to do.”
“Firstly, this is something we think is strategically imperative, it is not a trend, and ESG is here to stay. It brings value to us as an organisation and certainly to the communities that we serve. Secondly, it is important for both external and internal stakeholders and therefore it is important for us. Every part of an organisation, every division, and every department can impact or can be impacted by sustainability, so everyone has a part to play.”
Thirdly, it is the right thing to do - disclosing and reporting that transparency is part of the comprehensive sustainability program and for the program to make an impact or be effective an organisation must report.
Talking about benefits of ESG, Leo noted awareness helps us develop as a bank. “For awareness perspective both internally and externally, ESG disclosures can drive investment decisions which is critically important as a bank. Corporates should ensure their initiatives and reporting is in the public domain so that people can refer to it.”
“Internally every department has a role to play, and disclosure and reporting in collecting the data mobilises the entire organisation. So, part of the journey is getting everybody involved, getting the right data in a consistent way and this helps drive the culture of sustainability and embed sustainability within our DNA,” he added.
It also helps in continual development as engaging with investors, and the ESG rating companies helps to understand how to proceed in the marketplace and continually enhance in that space.
“As a bank we have always worked towards compliance and regulatory requirements. This is a journey as sustainability is here, ESG will be here to stay. By beginning this journey corporates will learn, develop and be mature in this space,” he added.
John Gollifer, General Manager, Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) shed light on how important ESG is becoming within the Gulf and future of ESG. He said, “The addition of sustainability guides or ESG guidelines is a natural progression as far as investor communications goes. The beauty of the market ecosystem is that you can adopt and apply principles. Good business people run sustainable businesses through global pandemics and every other external shocks and they know what to report.”
