Case study: How ADIB promotes a culture of responsible banking among its employees
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is a prominent financial institution in the UAE and ranks among the largest Islamic banks worldwide. Based in Abu Dhabi and publicly listed, ADIB was established in 1997 as the first Islamic bank in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is recognized as one of the leading Islamic banks in the region, ranking as the fourth largest in the GCC by total assets, which amount to AED 226 billion. The bank holds a 15% market share in the UAE retail banking sector. Internationally, ADIB operates in six key markets: Egypt, where it has 70 branches; Saudi Arabia; the United Kingdom; Qatar; Sudan; and Iraq. ADIB is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and is, accordingly, promoting a culture of responsible banking among its employees. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement by ADIB prepared in relation to its implementation of the PRB, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Which Principles for Responsible Banking have been addressed?
The Principles for Responsible Banking addressed in this case are:
- Principle 5: Governance & Culture
- Principle 4: Stakeholders
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- How ADIB proceeded with stakeholder identification and consultation, and
- How ADIB promotes a culture of responsible banking among its employees
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Stakeholder identification and consultation
Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.
ADIB consistently maintains transparent and ongoing communication with its key stakeholders, promoting constructive dialogue to identify areas of significant impact and material topics that are relevant to the bank.
ADIB’s Double Materiality Assessment serves as the primary method for stakeholder engagement with regard to impact and materiality. Through this process, stakeholders such as staff, senior management, the Board of Directors, customers, suppliers, and community members were identified.
Beyond this assessment, ADIB’s stakeholder management approach involves continuous engagement with the bank’s key stakeholders, recognizing their vital role in shaping ADIB’s strategic direction. ADIB identifies key stakeholders as those most affected by its operations and those with the greatest influence over the bank’s operations, including management, investors, customers, employees, partners, communities, and regulators. To facilitate effective engagement, ADIB employs multiple channels to proactively communicate, enabling the bank to understand, address, and respond to their concerns and interests. Insights obtained from these interactions are vital in understanding the ESG factors material to ADIB’s operations, guiding the development and implementation of initiatives aligned with stakeholder expectations and promoting sustainable growth.
In addition, ADIB’s sustainability performance has been recognized by external ESG rating agencies, notably with an AA MSCI ESG rating that highlights its strong ESG risk management and performance. This external assessment also affirms the quality and transparency of ADIB’s public disclosures.
Details of ADIB’s overall stakeholder management approach, which enables ADIB to maintain a principled approach to banking and improve its impacts, can be found below:
| Stakeholder | Commitment | Engagement mode |
| Shareholders | ADIB provides timely and detailed disclosures to enable investors to make informed investment decisions. | • Quarterly result briefings • Investor conferences • One-on-one and group meetings with over 250 investors, conducted • AGM • Annual report • Investor relations app
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| Customers | ADIB interacts with customers to better understand their evolving needs so that it can provide the right financial Shari’a compliant solutions for them. | • Multiple service channels, including digital banking, call centres and branches • Regular engagements via relationship managers and customer Majles • Active interaction and prompt follow-up to queries/ feedback received via social media platforms • Regular satisfaction surveys • Customer Mail, to facilitate dialogue between customers from all segments and the senior bank executives to directly engage in dialog and share their feedback
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| Staff
| ADIB communicates with its staff via multiple channels to ensure that its employees feel connected and informed. Their opinions on material topics of sustainability are also essential to understand the impact, risks and opportunities of the topic on the business. This will play a pivotal role in shaping ADIB’s ESG strategy. | • Internal communications where employees have an open discussion with the GCEO • Group-wide town hall hosted by the GCEO • Regular department events held by senior management • Annual “My Voice” Employee Engagement survey • Employee newsletter • Employee WhatsApp group • Mailer and intranet |
| Community and partners.
| ADIB is committed to engaging with the community and partners to better understand the role it can play in addressing societal needs and gaps. | • Regular events and conversations with Businesses and community partners to understand the social landscape and how ADIB can partner to create impact. • Connection with government bodies and associations • Community engagement and partnerships within the public • Free financial literacy programmes |
| Regulators
| ADIB strives to be a good corporate citizen and advocate by providing input to and supporting the implementation of relevant local and global laws, regulations, guidelines, and public policies. | • Regular engagement sessions with regulators and government bodies • Sharing insights and providing feedback to regulators • Actively participating in regulatory working groups, committees or forums • Actively participating in local, regional, and international industry forums on financial regulation • Actively responding to, or providing feedback on Consultation Papers, draft regulations or guidelines, or policy statements or papers |
How does ADIB promote a culture of responsible banking among its employees?
In its 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement ADIB reports that it took the following actions to promote a culture of responsible banking among its employees:
ADIB is dedicated to integrating responsible banking principles into its organizational culture, ensuring that employees at every level understand their role in achieving positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes.
Capacity Building and ESG Training
Mandatory ESG Training: All staff participate in comprehensive ESG training modules as part of ADIB’s mandatory learning program, with a completion rate exceeding 90%.
Specialist Training for Key Functions: ADIB provides targeted, specialized training to strengthen expertise within critical business units, including compliance, risk management, and frontline teams. Key topics covered include:
- ESG Investing
- Sustainable Finance
- Green Financing
- ESG & Climate Risk and Stress Testing
- Sustainable Procurement
- Net Zero Banking & the Circular Economy
These programmes enhance technical skills and embed sustainability considerations into product development, investment decisions, procurement, and risk management processes.
Leadership Communication and Strategic Alignment
Sustainability is a fundamental organizational priority, reinforced through the “Sustainable Future” pillar in ADIB’s corporate strategy. Executive leaders regularly communicate sustainability goals and performance expectations, ensuring alignment with the bank’s long-term vision and the Principles for Responsible Banking. Additionally, ADIB’s governance framework encourages leadership dialogue on ESG and sustainability issues, solidifying the bank’s commitment to responsible banking. The ESG Management Committee and ESG Board Committee provide strategic guidance and leadership communication to prioritize sustainability across all levels of the organization.
Integration into Performance Management
ADIB has incorporated sustainability KPIs into its balanced scorecards to promote accountability and performance:
Bank-wide: The Sustainable Future strategic pillar cascades into divisional objectives, aligning all units with ESG priorities.
Business Units: Under ADIB’s Sustainable Finance Strategy for 2030, financial KPIs are embedded into business unit scorecards to support its AED 60 billion sustainable finance target by 2030. Annual financial targets are established and monitored to track progress toward this goal.
Through mandatory training, targeted capability development, leadership engagement, and integration into performance and reward systems, ADIB fosters a deeply ingrained culture of responsible banking that supports the effective implementation of the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking.
UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet
With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.
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References:
This case study is based on published information by ADIB, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
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