Zawya - Century Financial introduces a series of initiatives in support of the UAE’s ‘Year of Sustainability’

In line with the recent announcement of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on declaring 2023 as the Year of Sustainability, Middle-East-based investment services company Century Financial has announced a series of initiatives as part of its contribution towards strengthening sustainability in the financial sector.

Century Financial’s sustainability agenda will primarily focus on forging strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations in the region under the banner ‘Sustainability and U’. The initiatives, which are anchored on actively engaging the financial community, will work towards achieving a robust ecosystem that will, in turn, help to strengthen the environment, sustainability and governance efforts (ESG) across the region.

To drive this all-important agenda, Century Financial has appointed veteran industry professional Sameera Fernandes, Director of Sustainability to initiate and lead ESG initiatives. According to Sameera, Century Financial is taking a quantum leap in spearheading and rallying the regional financial sector in taking decisive and effective climate actions to ultimately achieve a net-zero future.

“To re-affirm our support for the UAE’s green development drive towards COP28, we are rolling out an ambitious multi-pronged agenda in driving sustainability initiatives across the company and our industry. With the appointment of our Director of Sustainability to lead sustainable business transformation, various strategies, policies, and breakthrough collaborations have been flagged off this year to commence our journey,” said Bal Krishen, Chairman and CEO, Century Financial.

On her part, Sameera Fernandes, Director of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability commented, “Over the course of the next few months, we have initiated several programmes that will actively promote sustainable best practices in the financial space. By leveraging the UAE government’s focus on sustainability with the impending COP28 climate conference to be hosted later this year, we shall also be actively engaging with stakeholders to promote sustainable practices that impact the economic, environmental, and social conditions.”

The initiatives will be steered by a strategically constituted think tank comprising banks, wealth management and investment companies brought together to share best practices based on the newly introduced ESG criteria of the GHG reporting standards. Further, various sustainable finance frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be actively incorporated into the reporting.

As part of the framework, the initiatives will also generate sustainability audits, rating systems, certifications and share best practices across the financial sector to encourage other players in the industry to adopt and introduce similar initiatives.

“With regards to our internal initiatives at Century Financial we are focused on strengthening our communities through financial literacy- From students across universities, frontline workers to corporates and empowering women on being self-sustainable. The financial literacy initiative is ready to be rolled out in the first quarter. These developments also complement the various efforts we are undertaking to incorporate and embed ESG considerations into our approach and operations. Through this, we will be able to have measurable benchmarks in the UAE,” noted Sameera.

Century Financial has been a pioneer in the UAE’s investment sector understanding investors evolving demands and harnessing this allegiance toward impact investing. Boosting the millennials and Gen Z’s inclination to value and proactively invest in companies that support SDGs; Century Financial has recently included ESG-focused instruments in its diverse product offering to complement the shift towards socially responsible investing.