National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has today signed up to the United Nations Global Compact, reinforcing its commitment to uphold and protect human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption principles through its business practices.
With its signing, NBK commits to adopting ethical and responsible business practices in its day-to-day operations, and organizational culture.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, NBK Managing Director Paul Russo noted that participating in the United Nations Global Compact will strengthen its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) even as they continue to develop their sustainable social and environmental responsibility programs, aimed at creating shared value for communities in which it operates.
“We applaud National Bank of Kenya’s commitment to the United Nations Global Compact to support the acceleration of the financial institution’s sustainability work. The financial sector has a key role to play in achieving both the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the SDGs. National Bank of Kenya is well-positioned to invest in projects which have a positive impact on the economy, society, and the environment,” said Ms. Judy Njino, Executive Director of Global Compact Network Kenya during the official signing ceremony.
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“The tenets of the UN Global Compact are strategies we currently employ throughout our operations and we are pleased to join the many organizations all over the world who believe, as we do, that ethical business conduct is the only way to encourage development at all levels. As NBK, we are particularly keen to take strategic action on SDG 6 by ensuring equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all through our recently launched Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program that supports SMEs investment in the sector,” said Russo.
As a signatory, NBK will be required to submit an annual Communication on Progress (CoP) report, demonstrating to its stakeholder its progress in working towards the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.
“We support public accountability and transparency in our operations, and therefore we commit to reporting on progress within one year of joining the UN Global Compact, and annually thereafter according to the Global Compact COP policy,” Russo added.
NBK joins more than 260 Kenyan companies in signing to the UN Global Compact.
Founded in 2000 as a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to private sector companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with the Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption and take actions that advance societal goals.