Nations Trust Bank committed to climate action with CarbonConscious certification

Friday, 11 May 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

For the third consecutive year, Nations Trust Bank has been recognised for its positive climate action by the Carbon Consulting Company (CCC), which has calculated the Carbon Footprint of Nations Trust Bank’s office complexes at its Head Office in Union Place and two other main offices in Nawam Mawatha and Kotahena, in accordance with the international guidelines on assessing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. The verification and assurance on this certification was conducted by The Sustainable Future Group (SFG).

Beyond the measurement of the carbon footprint, the bank has taken proactive measures to manage its impacts including through energy, waste and transport management. As a result of solar net metering system that was commissioned in May 2016 at its Millennium House complex, the bank had been able to reduce emissions by 18tCO2e as at December 2016. A mix of technology and capacity building interventions made during the certification period have allowed the bank to also achieve the lowest carbon intensity (tCO2e as a proportion of full time employees) over the past three years during 2017.

Being an active advocate of the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association’s Sustainable Banking Initiative (SLBA – SBI), Nations Trust Bank has also been building its internal capacity on sustainable financing. Bank is currently exploring value propositions in clean energy, smart mobility and climate smart agriculture. Bank’s digital offerings such as FriMi, Sri Lanka’s first digital bank, is set to make transformational change in making it convenient for customers to opt for low carbon options and avoid redundant use of transport and paper.

“We are really concerned about the impacts of climate change on the quality of life and we are striving to improve our performance in decoupling growth from emissions. We do believe that digital finance can play a role here and we have been innovating in this sphere to make transformational change in the banking industry,” said Nations Trust Bank Chief Executive Officer Renuka Fernando. “We will continue to measure and manage our carbon footprint.” The bank hopes to also position solar net metering systems with the lessors of its branch locations through attractive rates and payment plans during 2018, helping the bank to move towards Sri Lanka’s target of 100% of electricity sourced from renewable sources.

Carbon Consulting Company Chief Executive Officer Sanith De S. Wijeyeratne remarked: “We are pleased that they continue to improve on their environmental performance through regular monitoring and mitigation of their operational greenhouse gases to save our environment for the future. The management team at NTB are leading by example and showing the financial industry how the pursuit of environmental sustainability can be leveraged as a competitive advantage in business. We are pleased that they continue to improve on their environmental performance through regularly monitoring and mitigating their operational greenhouse gases to save our environment for the future.”