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Access Bank reviews CSR strategy
By Tosin Fodeke
ACCESS Bank Plc has reviewed its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy and had equally commenced the implementation of policies and procedures that align business growth with good corporate citizenship.
According to the banks' Corporate Social Responsibility report for 2008 recently released in Lagos, CSR in the bank cuts cross "every thing that we do and every one we deal with, from employers to regulators and from customers to the community".
"It represents our continued commitment to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of our workforce and their families as well as that of our local communities and society at large", the report said.
Also, it stated that the bank is a responsible business that understands the issues that matters to its stakeholders and addresses these issues its business processes, people and activities, stressing that, "we continually integrate responsible business practices into our corporate structures and decision making processes, while creating innovation and proactive solution to societal and environmental challenges, as well as collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders to improve our performance"
To this extent, the report said the concept of the bank's CSR is not limited to support its focus areas of Arts, Education, Environment, Health and Sports or a concern with welfare schemes and charity work.
Access Bank, it said, is responsible at all times and in all activities, maintaining high standards of integrity in its methods and practices of doing business.
It pointed out that in 2008, the bank took its sustainability commitment a step further by establishing a CSR department, with responsibility for strategy and implementation of the bank's CSR objectives and commitments.
Since then, it said, the bank has undergone a rigorous process to comprehensively review its CSR strategy and commenced the implementation of policies and procedures that align business growth with good corporate citizenship.
The report explained that the strategy is predicated on two main thrusts:
Corporate responsibility to stakeholders which includes investors and stakeholders, business partners, clients, employees, community, media, civil society and government.
Supporting society's important activities, which incorporate our focus areas of Arts, Education, Environment, Health and Sport.
According to the report, the Board of Directors have the highest level of governance oversight for the management of CSR in the bank. The Board of Directors therefore approved the establishment of the Access Bank Corporate Social Responsibility Committee which consists of:
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, who is also the Chairman of the Committee;
A Senior independent Adviser;
Deputy Group Managing Director;
Executive Director, Investment Banking;
Group Head, General Resource Management;
Group Head, Wealth Management;
Head, Group Human Resources;
Head, Group Internal Audit;
Group Head, Total Quality Management
Head, Regulatory Compliance and Reputational Risk
Group Head, Corporate Communications and Brand Management
Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, who also serves as the Secretary of the Committee.
The role of the Senior Independent Adviser to the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee is to provide leadership support and guidance from a position of independence, to enable the bank to benefit for best practices, mobilize leadership around issues of universal concern, gain increased access to relevant expertise and networks, and strengthen the recognition and awareness of the bank's CSR commitment among relevant stakeholders, the report had explained.
SOURCE: The Guardian
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