As a testament to its steadfast commitment to doing business in a responsible and sustainable fashion, Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” announced the release of its second Sustainability Report, for the 2018 and 2019 period, expanding the positive trends demonstrated in the first edition, and reinforcing its commitment to clients, business, people and community at large. Developed in full accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, it highlights the company’s contribution to the global goals. It is strongly tied to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Kuwait National Development Plan (KNDP) and Boursa Kuwait Sustainability Disclosure Guide.
A Holistic Approach to Sustainable Growth
The report underlines Markaz’s continuous commitment to measuring and evaluating its sustainability performance, and to transparently report the results to all stakeholders. The company is a proactive steward of responsible business strategies and practice, and has always been a strong advocate for sustainability. The report is not required under regulation or compliance; therefore, submitting itself to evaluation against these global standards is a compelling affirmation of Markaz’s ethical approach and its pursuit of best practices. Doing so reflects a core belief, that the only way to operate is by recognizing and carefully managing the impact of its activities upon its internal and external stakeholders and on the communities it serves.
Deena Y. AlRefai, Senior Vice President Investor Relations, gave her view: “We see growing social, economic and environmental challenges, but also, of course, many opportunities. Markaz works to provide innovative financial solutions in a time of change. Our holistic approach takes sustainability into account. We engage positively with stakeholders, to embed and optimize governance, economic, people, community and environmental factors. This approach further emphasizes Markaz’s sustainable success and its contribution to ESG.”
Key Components of Markaz’s Sustainability Development
Governance
AlRefai added: “Markaz is known for its strong and effective governance, the source of its ethical and transparent business practices. Our strategic approach, underpinned by adherence to sound policies and principles, strengthens stakeholder journeys into sustainable growth.”
Economy
Striving to deliver healthy returns and contribute to economic development, Markaz has focused on calculating its Sustainability Return on Investments (SROI). Active innovation ensures a wider and longer lasting economic impact, and so its products’ growth and performance highlight the wider positive impact of sustainability practices, for both financial and non-financial outcomes.
People
An essential element of Markaz’s sustainable development is its people. Markaz establishes a work environment that enables personal best performance, a daily experience that encourages creativity and that attracts and retains professionals committed to the clients, to the community and to the environment. Markaz’s reputation emanates from the efforts of team members who embody Markaz’s values and ethical reputation, within a culture that creates opportunities for career growth, optimizing everyone’s potential to meet and exceed client expectations.
Community
Keen to fulfill its commitment to providing inclusive solutions, Markaz focuses on the local community as well. Community engagement means delivering on economic needs of the nation in equal consideration of surrounding social needs. These needs go hand in hand when the focus is on sustainable growth.
The environment
“A sustainable environmental impact cannot be achieved,” AlRefai concluded, “without the consistent availability of solutions that incorporate this thinking, which we ensure through our diligent contribution to ESG. We are primarily experts in finance and client services, but in all we do, we promote and nurture environmental stewardship. Our internal practices focus on digitization to minimize and manage waste, and we work to maximize environmentally-friendly processes and practices.”
Markaz is keen to add value in all areas of operation, and to lead by example with the various reporting and research efforts it makes throughout the year, with all key stakeholders’ interest at heart. One of its recent contributions was the launch of its ‘Procurement Guide to contractual arrangements between governmental & quasi-governmental entities and the company’, in an effort to establish guided contractual relationships between both the private and government sector.
Sustainability Report