In what can be described as a phenomenal step in stimulating responsible business practices, Access Bank Ghana has again demonstrated its leadership by committing to issuing a sustainability report following the world-acclaimed Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards.

When fully implemented, Access Bank will become one of the first banks in Ghana to adopt the GRI Standards for sustainability reporting.

The initiative will lead to efficient and effective sustainability reporting for the Bank, as part of steps to offer superior value in reporting to the Bank’s various stakeholders.

Commenting on the initiative, the Executive Director for Business Development at Access Bank Ghana, Mr. Ifeanyi Njoku indicated that the initiative was critical to the Bank’s business operations and will help to ensure that opportunities and resources for future generations are not jeopardized.

He stated: “For us in Access Bank, sustainability goes beyond meeting regulatory requirements. It involves strategic planning and decision-making in creating a culture of economic, social and environmental responsibility across the Bank, its people and the entire value chain”.

A one-day workshop facilitated by officials from the GRI Netherlands office was held at the Bank’s Head Office in Accra on Wednesday April 11 to initiate the reporting process.

The workshop, which is in part of GRI’s Competitive Business Programme being implemented across several countries including Ghana, was organised to train key staff from various units within the Bank.

Speaking on the occasion, the Head of Corporate Communications at Access Bank, Nana Adu Kyeremateng, expressed his appreciation to the GRI team for using the workshop to strengthen the performance and reporting capacity of participants.

He was optimistic that these activities will pave way for the Bank to publish its maiden stand-alone sustainability report in 2019.

Asthildur Hjaltadottir, Director of Regions and Programs Implementation at GRI, said: “While sustainability reporting has become a mainstream activity of many large companies in the world, including banks and other financial institutions, this is a relatively unknown practice in Ghana and at this point in time GRI is not aware of any GRI reports that have been issued here.

“We therefore applaud the commitment of Access Bank to pioneer this type of reporting in the country and thereby lead by example. It was also great to experience the enthusiastic participation of the staff present at the workshop and I am convinced that this will be a turning point for Access Bank and further enhance their position as leaders in their field.”

Sustainability remains the bedrock of Access Bank Group’s operations which span across 8 African countries, China, India, Dubai, Lebanon and the United Kingdom.

The workshop is part of a series of deliberate steps by the Bank to lead the way for sustainability across the globe.

Over the years, Access Bank has demonstrated its continued commitment to influence social, economic and environmental systems beyond making profits and continues to spearhead its sustainability drive through unrivalled investments in Education, Health, Environment, Sports and the Arts.

Currently, Access Bank is ranked as the 12^th largest Bank in Ghana by assets and is operating one of the largest branch networks in the country.

The Group currently boasts of a considerable number of award-winning sustainability initiatives since inception.

About the Global Reporting Initiative

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international independent organisation that provides the most trusted and widely used Standards on sustainability reporting and has pioneered sustainability reporting for two decades and in effect have helped businesses and governments to fully understand and communicate their impact on critical sustainability issues.

The Competitive Business Program is being implemented in Ghana with the generous support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).