This case study outlines how Access Bank embeds the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) into its core strategy, aligning with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and the Global Biodiversity Framework. It highlights the bank’s growth in green finance, gender-lens lending, MSME support, digital inclusion, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Strengthened ESG governance, risk assessment, and stakeholder engagement underpin its approach to long-term sustainable and inclusive growth.

Scope

Covers Access Bank’s responsible-banking alignment; green-bond issuance; climate-finance projects; SME and women-entrepreneur programmes; digital financial inclusion; public-health initiatives; conflict-sensitive lending; and stakeholder engagement structures.

Relevance to finance professionals

• Shows practical integration of sustainability across lending, product development, and risk management.
• Demonstrates real-world application of ICMA/CBI green-bond principles, IFC Performance Standards, and the Equator Principles.
• Provides examples of ESG risk assessment and external verification in project financing.
• Offers a replicable green-bond structure for sustainable-finance teams.
• Supplies measurable indicators—renewables financed, MSMEs supported, gender-lens lending volumes—for impact and transition analysis.
• Illustrates how responsible finance strengthens institutional resilience and investor confidence.

Thematics covered

• Climate mitigation and adaptation
• Green bonds and renewable energy
• Financial inclusion
• SME development
• Gender equality
• Public-health resilience
• Conflict-sensitive lending
• ESG governance and stakeholder engagement

How the case study supports finance-professional decision-making

The case provides insight into Access Bank’s governance structures, ESG risk processes, and quantifiable sustainability outcomes. Impact indicators—such as clean energy generated, flood-defence results, and inclusion-finance outcomes—support assessments of sustainability performance and transition readiness.

Tools, data and methods used

Access Bank uses a Green Bond Framework aligned with ICMA and CBI principles to define eligible projects and ensure transparent allocation of proceeds. Its Environmental and Social Risk Management Policy, along with IFC Performance Standards and the Equator Principles, guides project screening and ESG due diligence. The bank applies external verification for eligible assets, tracks use of proceeds through dedicated internal systems, and produces annual impact reports to disclose environmental and social outcomes.

Procedure followed

The bank reviewed its portfolio to identify ESG impacts, set sustainability targets, and developed governance structures such as a Green Bond Committee. It conducted external verification of eligible projects, monitored fund allocation internally, and integrated stakeholder feedback into product design and programme implementation.

Outcomes and lessons

• Issued Africa’s first CBI-certified green bond
• Financed renewable-energy and flood-defence infrastructure
• Supported over 1.5 million MSMEs
• Delivered significant gender-lens financing across Africa
• Lessons: strong governance, transparent reporting, external verification, and partnership-led approaches are key to scaling credible sustainable finance.

Ease of replicability and actionability

• Processes for ESG screening, governance, and proceeds tracking are transferable across institutions
• Impact-measurement and eligibility criteria provide accessible templates for sustainable-finance teams
• Alignment with international standards supports cross-market replication and investor acceptance

Assessment of credibility

Published by UNEP FI and grounded in recognised global standards with independent verification, the case represents a credible account of Access Bank’s responsible-banking practices.