(Trinidad Guardian) ANSA Merchant Bank in T&T and Barbados, and ANSA Bank have partnered with The Cropper Foundation and the Capitals Coalition to launch the Caribbean Natural Capital Hub.
The initiative places greater emphasis on renewable energy projects and the better use of natural resources through specialised funding for such programmes.
Speaking at the launch at the Hyatt Regency Hotel yesterday, chairman, ANSA Merchant Bank Ltd A Norman Sabga said as a group it has always been conscious of its duty to operate businesses responsibly in the interest of employees, investors, customers and the broader society. “For us, sustainability is not just about delivering profits and growth. It is about creating a positive impact so that our stakeholders are better off because we exist… The sheer size, nature and diversity of our businesses give the group the unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to building a brighter future for a wide cross-section of society,” Sabga said.
As a provider of funding, Sabga said the company proposes to influence more sustainable decision-making by customers.
“We have already begun offering customers in Barbados exclusive deals on the purchase of electric vehicles. We are also prepared to provide growth incentives for businesses whose activities are geared towards reducing environmental impact,” Sabga explained.
For example, he said ANSA Merchant Bank currently has a healthy financing pipeline for renewable energy projects which will create opportunities to provide value-added financing terms.
Gregory Hill, managing director of ANSA Merchant Bank Ltd and chairman, ANSA Merchant Bank (Barbados) Ltd noted that the partnership will have a lasting impact on future generations.
“Our commitment goes to the heart of how we conduct our banking business. We think globally, and act regionally and locally. It has taken a small team of us, over two years to reach this point, where I am confident to stand before you today and make such a commitment on behalf of our banks.
“Simply put, we are embarking on a journey where we will learn to embed the natural capital protocols into all our operations. We will then be able to identify, quantify, and communicate publicly, the ways in which our operations affect and are reliant on nature’s assets,” Hill said.
He added that the goal is to use this assessment, to pioneer the first, private sector led, Natural Capital Report in the Caribbean which will explain and document, the economic and financial value of the impact on the capital assets of the region.
Hill explained that as part of the hub, it will lead to several initiatives such as grant challenges for SMEs, start-ups and innovators in T&T and Barbados, sponsorship of a citizen’s blog, and much more.
To ensure the success of the hub, Hill said some initiatives include offering preferential banking terms to borrowing clients in sustainable businesses; pivot its investment offerings to widen the pool of products to blue or green mutual fund investment opportunities for its investing clients; enhance its sustainability engagement with Gen Z and millennial influencers, who believe in important “causes” and collaborate openly with the next generation of ANSA Banking clients by offering special incentives to projects and businesses that can demonstrate the need and their actions.
Omar Mohammed, CEO of The Cropper Foundation said the measure is a shining example of multi-stakeholder partnership for sustainability.
“The private sector, and more specifically the financial sector, is possibly the single biggest catalyst for change globally,” he added.