Bank Muscat, the leading financial service provider in the Sultanate of Oman, is pleased to announce that it has recentlyreceived the Sustainability Award in the ESG category at the Oman Sustainability Week Award ceremony held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center (OCEC). The event was hosted under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals, who handed over the award to Hamza Abbas Al Ajmi, Deputy General Manager, Credit, Bank Muscat, with the presence of a number of senior officials and executives from various public and private sectors. The event was organized to recognize the institutions that play a pioneering role in implementing sustainability and ESG practices.
The Oman Sustainability Week represents a national platformaiming to highlight Bank Muscat’s role in the field of sustainability and the Sultanate’s commitment to implementing innovative strategies and sustainable practices conducive to the development of the nation, as strategized in Oman Vision 2040 and in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Oman Sustainability Week came in existence to raise public awareness on sustainability. It also represents a medium to enhance corporate responsibility forimplementing strategic plans and embarking on sustainable and ESG practices which contribute to national development and sustainable economic growth.
Speaking on this achievement, Hamza bin Abbas Al Ajmi, Deputy General Manager, Credit, Bank Muscat, said, “We are delighted to receive the Sustainability Award at the glitteringOSW Awards ceremony, which reaffirms Bank Muscat’s strategy of promoting sustainability through its endeavors of utilizing and investing in renewable energy to expandsustainable projects as an integral pillar for creating national sustainable economy. The Bank has undertaken many initiatives to promote sustainability, including the development of itsecofriendly green finance product. The launch of this product came with the aim to allow customers to install solar panels on their rooftops and use solar energy for a large part of their household energy requirements. Bank Muscat is committed to implementing recent technologies to reduce water and electricity consumption rates, reduce gas emissions that lead to global warming, and decrease paper waste. Furthermore, the Bank takes pride in having successfully installed solar panels in Al Koudh Meethaq branch to be the first branch in the Sultanateutilizing and relying on renewable energy.”
Throughout its journey of over 40 years, Bank Muscat has been showing strong and excellent presence in the fields of sustainability as well as corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this regard, the Bank has been setting strategic plans to further enhance its pioneering role in CSR and running a number of sustainable initiatives that aim to serve the community.Examples of the Bank’s sustainable initiatives comprise the annual Green Sports Programme that has so far benefitted 183 teams with over 50,000 team members across the Sultanate, the Tadhamun Programme set to support social welfare and low-income families and which has served until today 206 families out of a total of 2000 families since its launch in 2013, and the Al Wathbah SME Academy which equips the Omani entrepreneurs with the skills necessary to support their businesses. It is a matter of great pride that the Bank also implements a strategic plan to take advantage of the potential opportunities to enhance the Sultanate’s economic growth in line with the Oman’s Vision 2040. As the leading financial institution in the country, the Bank constantly upholds its dedication to sustainability and community service through the ongoing launch of sustainable programmes and initiatives.
