Community

Green, together

On 1 September 2013, the Bank will have had an uninterrupted existence of 175 years. Echoing its 150th anniversary, when the Bank offered a gift to its depositors in the form of an option to convert an interest premium into bank shares, MCB is again offering a gift for its birthday, this time to the nation as a whole. Launched by a press conference (link to news) on 6 March 2009, Initiative 175 will endeavour to originate concerted, sustained and multiple actions in favour of energy saving, renewable energy production and the environment - all to the benefit of the island and its population. The Bank will thus articulate initiatives for and by its employees, its customers and, more widely, the general public.

A better, greener world

Whilst positioning itself as a 'sustainable organisation', the MCB has remained committed to further its contribution to socially responsible development and to promote its environmental stewardship. The aim is to foster the welfare of society in line with one of the missions of the Group namely: 'We will do what we can to make the world a better, greener place.'

Over time, the MCB unleashed a wide range of initiatives to fulfil its corporate social responsibility, with interventions of recent years being largely shaped by the guidelines set by the Government as per its National CSR Programme and by the internally-generated 'Initiative 175'.

In this respect, apart from specific micro-level initiatives highlighted later on in this section, the MCB has transformed its pledges in favour of sustainable development into prominent accomplishments such as the recent completion of our eco-friendly and energy-efficient building in the vicinity of the Ebène Cybercity, which qualified – for the first time in Mauritius and the Southern Hemisphere – for the BREEAM certification.

In collaboration with Agence Française de Développement, the MCB offers 'Green Loan' facilities to help firms save energy and reduce carbon emissions, with six firms having, to date, benefited from such facilities for a total value of Rs 235 million. More recently, a special scheme to support small power producers was successfully implemented. (link to news Green Loan, un premier bilan prometteur July 2011)

Environment and social policy

From another perspective, in line with its own philosophy and following commitments taken with international financial partners, the MCB has developed an Environmental and Social Policy. The purpose of the latter is to set out the principles, policies, roles and responsibilities whereby the Bank should ensure that the social and environmental impacts of any specific project – i.e. one to which loans of an aggregate amount greater than or equal to USD 2 million and with a maturity of at least 24 months have been provided – are being identified and evaluated in a systematic manner. This should assist in adopting a more holistic approach to risk management, deepen relationships with stakeholders and increase opportunities in the international finance arena.

At the same time, building on notable progress already made at both the strategic and operational levels to strengthen our state of readiness, the Bank will adopt the Equator Principles which stand as a governing principle of the Environmental and Social Policy. Equator Principles relate to a voluntary and internationally-recognisable set of standards which are used by many financial institutions around the world for determining, appraising and managing the environmental and social risk in project financing.

The main achievements so far

• Production and broadcast on MBC 1 of "Eco TV", a daily 5 minutes programme showing the simple things that we should all do to protect our environment and reduce pollution as well as energy use.
• Distribution of endemic plants with air-cleansing capacities to the staff
• Production and broadcast on MBC 1 of "Unis Vert", a series of 26 weekly mini documentaries depicting the ecological challenges facing Mauritius while inviting people to be more responsible.
• Pricing of ATM statements and receipts to reduce unnecessary printing and litter
• Launch of E-statements: customers can now receive their statements by email
• Green Loan for corporates in collaboration with Agence Française de Développement
• Green Loan for individuals wishing to install domestic photovoltaic systems for the production of electricity
• Organization of "La Terre Vue Du Ciel", a Yann-Arthus Bertrand exhibition, at Caudan: 400 000 visitors
• "Light" Housing loan scheme: a solar water heater offered to customers taking a loan in excess of Rs 1 million
• Distribution of energy-saving lightbulbs to customers and local organzations
• Sponsorship of the Moka-Flacq Environment Award
• Production of the first Mauritius Green Directory ("Annuaire de l'Environnement")
• Sponsorship of the Green Building conferences
• Launch of an-house recycling scheme for paper and printer cartridges