Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Governance
• Social Responsibility
• Environmental Sustainability

Environmental Achievements

• Implemented eco-friendly features and smart recycling techniques in facilities; ongoing program for reducing paper, plastic, water, and power usage; minimized business travel through video conferencing; supported international initiatives like WWF's Earth Hour and World Environment Day

Social Achievements

• Achieved 91% Saudisation ratio and 20% female employment; three female members in Executive Management and a female Board Chair; launched a new mobile banking app downloaded over 240,000 times in the first half of 2020; first bank in the Kingdom to facilitate a trade payment using blockchain technology; supported various social programs, including opening an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic, supporting Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association, and sponsoring employment programs for those with special needs; contributed SAR 27 million to the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 fund and provided food baskets to over 9,000 families; partnered with transport apps to deliver groceries; awarded a Customer Recommendation Index (‘CRI’) score of 94.
• Provided eligible customers with a 9-month payment deferral under SAMA’s Private Sector Financing Support Program; waived fees for digital payments and transfers for corporate customers and retail customers in the Healthcare sector

Governance Achievements

• Robust approach to corporate governance; Board comprised of diverse local and international expertise; established four sub-committees in line with regulatory requirements; strong risk culture embedded throughout business units; implemented a three lines of defense model for risk management; strengthened approach to risk management; invested in cyber security and financial crime compliance; zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption; whistleblowing policy in place

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Covid-19 pandemic created uncertainty and disruption; merger integration; navigating volatile times and increasing stakeholder expectations

Mitigation Strategies

• Maintained operational resilience and critical services; ensured customer and staff safety; implemented SAMA’s initiatives to support the financial sector; waived fees and provided payment deferrals; implemented business continuity plans; regular review of ESG risks and development of a future ESG plan

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• New mobile banking app

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Sustainable finance and investments
• Portfolio decarbonisation by 2060
• Corporate governance and partnerships
• Operational decarbonisation by 2035
• Community programmes and diversity, equity and inclusion
• Financial community ecosystem
• Carbon removal / tree planting
• ESG governance

Environmental Achievements

• Launched the Kingdom’s first green deposit
• Partnered with National Centre for Vegetation Cover on the 10 billion trees initiative. Planted 50,000 trees in 2022, aiming for 1 million by 2030
• Acted as one of the mandated lead arrangers on the SAR 14 billion financing raised to fund the Red Sea project
• SAB’s new LEED-certified smart headquarters resulted in a 28.47% reduction in operational energy consumption, 59.25% reduction in water consumption for landscaping, and 54.3% reduction in indoor water consumption.
• First KSA bank to eliminate plastic straws and single-use plastic water bottles across office buildings, saving 2.6 million plastic water bottles annually.
• 374,926 kg recycled waste in 2022.

Social Achievements

• Launched the Kingdom’s first green deposit
• Supported over 15,000 MSME customers through digital offerings
• Women's representation in Executive Management team stands at 35.7%
• Five female Senior Executives on Subsidiary and Associate Boards and sub-committees
• Provided 400,000 meals and preserved 130 tonnes of food through a food waste avoidance project.
• More than 370,000 students participated in the Taqadam SAB Digital Academy.
• Launched a financial literacy competition in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

Governance Achievements

• Implemented an ESG governance structure, including a new ESG Steering Committee
• 35 ESG champions appointed and trained across SAB
• Reduced 40 Management Committees to 24
• Became the first bank in Saudi Arabia to become a signatory to the UNPRB
• Received the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) “Excellence in Procurement Programme (PEP)” award.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Rising interest rates
• Global economic volatility
• Cybercrime
• Climate change impacts on Saudi Arabia
• Measuring the carbon footprint of the financed portfolio

Mitigation Strategies

• Agility and resilience in the face of challenges
• Investing in cybersecurity and privacy protection
• Commitment to achieving Net Zero in operations by 2035 and Net Zero in financed emissions by 2060
• Implementing a Transition Engagement Questionnaire to understand clients' transition plans
• Developing a plan to measure financed emissions in 2023

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Annual vendor assessments; added Code of Conduct agreement to vendor registration requirements.

Responsible Procurement

• Code of Conduct agreement for vendors
• Sanction checks, inherent risk assessment, and residual risk assessment of vendors

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Increased dry periods
• Depletion of groundwater reserves
• Flash floods
• Sand and dust storms
• Rising sea levels

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes
• Market shifts

Opportunities

• Growth in renewable energy, green hydrogen, sustainable tourism, and carbon sequestration

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB, UN Principles of Responsible Banking, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Certifications: LEED Gold (new headquarters)

Third-party Assurance: PwC (limited assurance)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 3
• SDG 4
• SDG 5
• SDG 7
• SDG 8
• SDG 9
• SDG 10
• SDG 11
• SDG 12
• SDG 13

Various initiatives contribute to these goals, including financial literacy programs, women's empowerment initiatives, support for MSMEs, and environmental projects.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Kingdom’s first green deposit
• Climate transition equity fund
• Green bank cards made of recycled plastic

Awards & Recognition

• Best Bank for Sustainable Finance in Saudi Arabia (Global Finance Magazine)
• Saudi Arabia’s Best Bank (Global Finance Sustainable Finance Awards)
• Best Bank for Customer Experience KSA (Global Brands Magazine)
• CIPS “Excellence in Procurement Programme (PEP)” award

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Sustainable Finance
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Community Development
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved LEED Gold and SmartScore Platinum certifications for new headquarters.
• Increased recycled paper by a significant amount (from 7.2 to 13.2 tons).
• Initiated a project to assess scope 3 GHG emissions, prioritizing material sectors.

Social Achievements

• Provided financial literacy programs to over 730,000 students through the Riyali Foundation.
• Supported MSMEs through various initiatives, including Taqadam, Kafalah, and Monsha’at partnerships.
• Increased the percentage of employees with disabilities to 1.73%.

Governance Achievements

• Developed and implemented a Sustainable Debt Framework with a Second Party Opinion from S&P Global.
• Established a Sustainable Finance Data Dictionary.
• Strengthened ESG governance structure with the ESG Steering Committee and ESG Office.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Assessing and managing scope 3 GHG emissions, particularly financed emissions.
• Limited public emissions disclosure among companies in the Kingdom.
• Climate-related risks (physical and transition).

Mitigation Strategies

• Developed a Climate Risk Framework.
• Launched a Transition Engagement Questionnaire (TEQ) to gather information from customers.
• Initiated a portfolio carbon footprinting exercise.
• Investing in and developing sustainable finance products.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events (flooding, wildfires)
• Rising temperatures and sea levels

Transition Risks

• Policy and legal changes
• Technological changes
• Market shifts
• Reputation risks

Opportunities

• Sustainable finance

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD, UNGC, UN Principles for Responsible Banking, UN Sustainable Development Goals, IFRS S1 and S2

Certifications: LEED Gold, SmartScore Platinum, ISO 10002, ISO 10004, PCI-DSS

Third-party Assurance: PricewaterhouseCoopers Public Accountants (PwC)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 1
• Goal 2
• Goal 4
• Goal 5
• Goal 8
• Goal 9
• Goal 10
• Goal 11
• Goal 12
• Goal 13
• Goal 17

See Appendix for details on how SAB's initiatives contribute to each SDG.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Green deposits
• Green lending products

Awards & Recognition

• Best Bank for ESG Investing in Saudi Arabia (Euromoney)
• Best Bank for ESG in Saudi Arabia (Euromoney)
• KSA’s Leading Sustainable Trade Finance Bank 2023 (KSA Trade Finance Summit 2023)
• Best Banking Customer Experience of KSA (KSA Future Bank Awards)
• Best Banking Brand in Saudi Arabia (Global Brands Magazine)
• Best Bank in Saudi Arabia (Euromoney and Global Finance)
• Best Bank for Digital Solutions in KSA (Euromoney)
• Best Bank for SME in KSA (Euromoney)
• Best Consumer Digital Bank 2023 (Global Finance)