As part of its efforts to strengthen its commitments and operations with a sustainable business focus and greater governance framework, Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has joined the UN Global Compact.
This signing reinforces DBG’s mission to promote environmental, social and governance (ESG) excellence within the businesses it supports.
A United Nations agreement known as the ‘Global Compact’ calls on its signatories, which are primarily businesses and organisations from all over the world, to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies and provide updates on how they are being carried out. The framework for businesses in the Compact is based on ten principles.
At the signing ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of DBG, Kwamina Duker, commented on DBG joining the UN Global Compact by saying: “DBG is pleased to join the many organisations around the world which are signatories to the UN Global Compact and believe, as we do, that ethical business practices can help businesses grow and prosper”.
By joining the UN Global Compact, DBG has become the first financial institution in Ghana to sign up for this UN charter.
“By adopting this charter and compact, we influence and work with our PFIs to ensure the loans that we give out are not only in terms of growth, but also in terms of sustainability; and sustainability works in two ways. It works in terms of making sure the governance we expect is not just from our PFIs but is also applied to SMEs,” Mr. Duker remarked.
The UN Global Compact’s four pillars – human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption – are supported by their ability to operate in ways which uphold these fundamental obligations.
Companies can uphold their fundamental obligations to people and the environment while also laying the groundwork for long-term success, by incorporating the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into their strategies, policies and procedures, and fostering an environment of integrity.
DBG is affirming its dedication to upholding and defending human rights, labour, environmental health and anti-corruption values through its business activities by signing the United Nations Global Compact.
The Executive Director for the UN Global Compact, Tolu Delacroix, said the Compact will better position DBG to evaluate, create, implement, measure and communicate its sustainability plan goals.
The UN Global Compact also offers DBG a framework to help all organisations, regardless of size, complexity or location, and a common language for corporate responsibility.
“Most importantly, by signing this Compact the bank is reaffirming its commitment to doing business in a clean, responsible and environmentally-friendly manner,” the Executive Director said.
With 13,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders in 170 countries, the United Nations Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. Its goals are to mainstream the ten principles into business activities around the world, and to catalyse actions in support of more general United Nations objectives like the Sustainable Development Goals.
