Staff Writer
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says the financial sector has made significant progress in integrating sustainability as climate-related disasters like droughts and floods intensify.
The central bank said this comes as there is an increasing demand for banking institutions to effectively manage financial risks while playing an active role in promoting the adoption of sustainable banking practices.
In its latest monetary policy statement, the RBZ said as at December 31, 2024, 15 out of 19 banking institutions, two development finance institutions and one deposit-taking microfinance institution were undergoing the Sustainability Standards Certification Initiative (SSCI) program being spearheaded by the European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD).
The RBZ said banking institutions are at various stages of implementing the modules under the SSCI certification program.
The Reserve Bank said it conducted a survey in December 2024 to assess progress by banking institutions integrating sustainability issues into their business strategies, governance and internal control systems.
“The survey revealed that 56% of the banking institutions had successfully integrated sustainability into their business models and had board members with relevant expertise in sustainability, climate risk, or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues,” the RBZ said.
“In addition, 32% of the banking institutions reported to have board-approved sustainable finance policies or frameworks in place, while some of the institutions have sustainability-related matters covered in other existing policies.”
The central bank added that in line with requirements stipulated in the Climate Risk Management Guideline 01-2023/BSD, banking institutions are required to submit their institutional climate risk profiles to the RBZ as at December 31, 2024, by March 31, 2025.
