Safaa and Bahrain and Kuwait sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance sustainability initiatives and offset carbon emissions.

In a step that enhances national cooperation to support climate action and sustainability initiatives, Safaa, the national platform for carbon offsets and climate action in the Kingdom of Bahrain and one of the companies affiliated with the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Group, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, aiming to establish a cooperative framework to explore partnership opportunities in the areas of sustainability and climate action.

The memorandum of understanding is a general framework for cooperation between the two parties, aiming to identify aspects of complementarity and develop joint initiatives that support the management of carbon emissions, the integration of green technologies, and the promotion of leadership in the areas of environmental, social and institutional governance, in line with the National Sustainability Program and the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Under the MoU, the two parties will work to explore dedicated carbon offset programs that include employee activities, offsetting customer emissions associated with the use of banking products and services, in addition to enhancing sustainability across the bank’s operations.

Potential areas of collaboration include leveraging Safaa’s advanced green technology solutions, ESG reporting systems, and programming interface (API) solutions, allowing sustainability practices to be seamlessly integrated into the operations of the bank and its subsidiaries.

The memorandum of understanding also aims to support local environmental projects with a tangible impact within the Kingdom of Bahrain, thus enhancing environmental restoration efforts and preserving natural resources. The agreement also confirms BBK’s commitment to sustainability and its leadership role in adopting and developing environmental, social and corporate governance practices in the financial sector.

While the details of these initiatives will remain flexible and subject to development, the two parties have committed to continuing dialogue and cooperation to gradually determine the scope of the projects and their implementation mechanisms.

The signing of this memorandum comes as a practical step to begin implementing the initial areas of cooperation and continue developing them.

Commenting on the signing of the memorandum, Mr. Mohammed Al-Aali, Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at BBK: “This memorandum reflects BBK’s commitment to accelerating the integration of sustainability practices into our corporate operations.

Through cooperation with Safaa, we aim to enhance our capabilities in emissions management, adopt advanced technical solutions that support informed decision-making, and contribute to building a more efficient and sustainable banking model, in line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s trends towards carbon neutrality.”

For his part, Mr. Talal Al-Arifi, CEO of Safaa, said: “We are pleased to cooperate with the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait to explore opportunities that translate sustainability ambitions into sustainable business steps. This memorandum is an important milestone towards integrating carbon management, green technologies, and leadership in the areas of environmental and social governance within the financial sector, in a way that supports the transition towards a more sustainable economy in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

This partnership reflects the growing role of financial institutions in supporting reliable climate action, and is consistent with Safaa’s mission to provide measurable and highly credible sustainability solutions across various sectors.