Full annual report - African Bank - Investoreports

Biodiversity
South Africa has the third highest level of biodiversity in the
world, but due to the effects of climate change biodiversity is
dwindling. ABIL’s business operations do not have a major
impact on biodiversity but we ensure that our central office
gardens are landscaped with indigenous plants to fit the
natural habitat.
Going forward
Through the implementation of the environmental policy the
following key areas were identified in 2012 and will continue
to be a priority in 2013:
■ Recording and improving the accuracy of data
■ Measuring and monitoring against objectives and targets
and driving down emissions with a focus on electricity
■ Re-education: Employees awareness and training
ABIL is committed to environmental sustainability and
reducing our carbon footprint. The greening journey is a
challenging one as it includes behaviour change from
a throw away culture to one of modesty and respect for the
natural world which we have come to take for granted.
Despite the challenges we are excited that we can improve
each year and feel confident that through working
together internally and with others this can be achieved.
2011 environmental DMA
For the past few years, ABIL has undertaken a number of
initiatives to mitigate our negative impact on the
176
environment. These initiatives, while adding value, have been
ad hoc and occurred without a defined strategy, impact
assessment or coordinated plan of action.
The seriousness of the global environmental crisis, and our
desire to actively align ourselves to the principles of
sustainable development, has led to the realisation that we
can no longer justify our stance that we are classified as a low
to medium impact company and that our efforts therefore
need not have the same rigour as is expected of significant
contributors of greenhouse gases.
We realise that unconscious consumption causes damage
to the environment and that we are in a position, not only to
manage our impact on the environment consciously, more
efficiently and less wastefully, but also to influence the
change we want to see internally, as well as from our
stakeholders and suppliers.
A formal structure has been implemented to guide and
review our environmental initiatives. The ABIL consumer
advocate was appointed to head up the environmental
portfolio for the group, reporting to the executive director
of risk, with oversight by the ABIL sustainability board
subcommittee. A dedicated specialist environmental
officer was appointed and a strategy for transformation
developed. The strategy encompasses an alignment of
actions and outcomes for the Banking and Retail units
working together.