Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC has announced the publication of its Sustainable Finance Framework which was created to facilitate the financing of green and social initiatives and projects. In doing so, DIB becomes the first Islamic bank in the UAE to publish such a Framework.

Under the Framework, DIB will finance projects with environmental benefits in eligible project categories such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, green buildings, pollution prevention and control and sustainable water and wastewater management, as well as supporting social initiatives that promote employment generation, affordable housing and access to essential services. 

The framework supports DIB’s commitment to driving sustainability by financing companies and projects that are at the forefront of the energy transition in the UAE. The Bank has already launched a number of innovative sustainable finance offerings, such as a green auto finance offering specifically for electric and hybrid vehicles and its bespoke housing financing solutions to provide affordable housing in the UAE. The Framework will allow DIB to accelerate these efforts by permitting the Bank to raise sustainable financing across multiple formats in the future.

See related article: Dubai Investment Fund (DIF) Announces the Creation of ESG Investment Department

DIB’s Sustainable Finance Framework was assessed by ISS ESG, which concluded that the Framework is aligned to the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines, as well as the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles and Social Loan Principles. Standard Chartered Bank, acting as sole sustainability structurer, supported DIB in the development of the Framework.

Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group Chief Executive Officer, DIB, commented: ”We are delighted to announce the publication of our Sustainable Finance Framework and the Second Party Opinion received from ISS ESG. The Framework illustrates DIB’s strong commitment to achieving its own sustainable aspirations and driving the UAE’s Net Zero agenda and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy.  We are excited about the potential that the framework offers in accelerating our efforts to become a more sustainable bank as well as access sustainable funding in the capital markets to support our sustainable lending portfolio”.

Source: Dubai Islamic Bank