EFG Hermes, the leading investment bank in the Arab world, announced on Tuesday its first sustainability report for 2014 detailing the integration of sustainability in the firm’s overall strategy. The strategy is firmly rooted in the adherence to six core principles: People, Products, Positioning, Presence Profitability and Public Responsibility, the bank said in a statement.
“The world around us has evolved and we must rise to meet the new challenges. Economic prosperity can no longer be measured purely on the basis of financial rewards, we must also seek the integration of environmental and social sustainability across all growth and development models," said EFG Hermes Chairperson Mona Zoul Faqar.
In 2014, EFG Hermes integrated public responsibility as a new principle to its guiding strategy.
"It is a responsibility that sees us truly committed to aligning our business practice with sustainability and ensuring that value creation does not come at the expense of the society, environment or overall economies of the countries in which we do business," Zoul Faqar mentioned.
The chairperson pointed out that issuing the first sustainability report was only a first step in instilling sustainability at the corporate governance, business units and community development levels of EFG Hermes.
EFG Hermes also established a sustainability committee in 2014, which is responsible for setting targets and establishing procedures to integrate sustainable business practices across all lines of business, said the statement.
Karim Awad, CEO of EFG Hermes, said the bank has started three investment projects in the field of clean and renewable energy that will have a significant and positive impact on both the environment and the economy. Awa pointed out that private equity acquired a 49 percent equity stake in the French wind energy company EDPR France. Additionally, through its infrastructure investment fund InfraMed, the firm has also invested in the Tafila Wind Farm in Jordan and the Egyptian Refining Company, which will produce Euro V diesel, the cleanest-burning diesel fuel in the world, according to Awad.
