FirstBank Joins Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, Reinforces its Commitment to Climate Action

Lagos- 30 Ocrober 2024, as part of its commitment to sustainable finance and taking active steps towards reducing its carbon footprint, FirstBank has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) to promote sustainable finance, combat climate change and advance sustainable socioeconomic development for the just transition. 

PCAF is a collaboration between financial institutions worldwide to enable harmonised assessments and disclosures of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from loans and investments. With more than 530 financial institutions from six continents, the group is rapidly expanding in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Joining PCAF aligns with FirstBank’s broader climate agenda, reinforcing its efforts to contribute meaningfully to global climate goals. By adopting PCAF’s globally recognised standards, FirstBank aims to enhance transparency in carbon accounting and reporting, integrate climate risk into its lending and investment decision-making, and support Nigeria’s transition to a low-carbon economy. This initiative complements FirstBank’s ongoing work on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, underscoring its dedication to responsible banking practices.

PCAF will provide FirstBank with a standardised methodology and framework to measure and report the Bank’s GHG emissions and climate-related risks. By joining PCAF, the Bank’s capability in understanding and managing its exposure to climate risks and liabilities (physical and transition risks) will be enhanced. This will enable the Bank to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to mitigate these risks while leveraging on the opportunities for growth.

Dylan Hauser, regional lead For PCAF Africa said “We congratulate FirstBank on becoming a signatory of PCAF. We are absolutely delighted to have FirstBank on board sharing our commitment to driving positive change and reducing carbon footprints in the region through transparent and accountable practices.”

According to Patrick Akhidenor, Chief Risk Officer, FirstBank, “Joining PCAF is a significant milestone in our sustainability journey. It is not only a demonstration of our commitment to combatting climate change but also a step towards ensuring that we, as a financial institution, are accountable for the carbon emissions our activities finance. We are excited to collaborate with other global institutions in driving meaningful climate action”.

By joining forces with PCAF, FirstBank is poised to champion transparency and accountability in impact of the financial sector’s activities on climate change.

About the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)

The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) was launched globally in September 2019. Currently, more than 530 financial institutions have subscribed to the PCAF initiative. PCAF participants work together to jointly develop the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of their loans and investments. For more information seehttps://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/

About FirstBank

First Bank of Nigeria Limited “FirstBank”, established in 1894, is the premier bank in West Africa, a leading financial inclusion services provider in Africa, and a digital banking giant. 

FirstBank’s international footprints cut across three continents ─ Africa, Europe and Asia, with FirstBank UK Limited in London and Paris; FirstBank in The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; FBNBank in Senegal; and a FirstBank Representative Office in Beijing, China. All the subsidiary banks are fully registered by their respective Central Banks to provide full banking services.

Besides providing domestic banking services, the subsidiaries also engage in international cross-border transactions with FirstBank’s non-Nigerian subsidiaries, and the representative offices in Paris and China facilitate trade flows from Asia and Europe into Nigeria and other African countries.

For over 130 years, FirstBank has built an outstanding reputation for solid relationships, good corporate governance, and a strong liquidity position, and has been at the forefront of promoting digital payment in the country with over 13 million cards issued to customers (the first bank to achieve such a milestone in Nigeria). FirstBank has continued to make significant investments in technology, innovation and transformation, and its cashless transaction drive has been steadily accentuated with virtually 23 million active FirstBank customers signed up on digital channels including the USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code.

With over 42 million customer accounts (including digital wallets) spread across Nigeria, UK and sub-Saharan Africa, the Bank provides a comprehensive range of retail and wholesale financial services through more than 820 business offices and over 243,400 agent locations spread across 772 out of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.

In addition to banking solutions and services, FirstBank provides pension fund custody services in Nigeria through First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited and nominee and associated services through First Nominees Nigeria Limited.

FirstBank’s commitment to Diversity is shown in its policies, partnerships and initiatives such as its employees’ ratio of female to male (about 39%:61%; and 32% women in management) as well as the FirstBank Women Network, an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and increase the participation of women at all levels within the organisation.  In addition, the Bank’s membership of the UN Women is an affirmation of a deliberate policy that is consistent with UN Women’s Women Empowerment’s Principles (WEPs) ─Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Nondiscrimination.