Arab Petroleum Investments new ESG policy

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), an energy-focused multilateral development bank has unveiled its new ESG policy framework. The launch of the framework comes as part of APICORP’s drive to support energy transition in its member countries and beyond.

The company is headquartered in Dammam, Saudi Arabia and has a revenue of $229bn.

Measuring ESG success and providing incentives at Arab Petroleum

APICORP plans to allocate $1bn towards green energy projects and sustainable energy companies in the MENA region over the next two years.

Currently, green assets comprise more than 13% of the multilateral development bank’s overall portfolio – equal to around $550mn in loans and direct investments.

The new framework also includes:

• A toolkit to measure the ESG impact when making financing and investment decisions
• Supporting the proliferation of renewable energy sources and low-carbon technologies 
• Creating more strategic partnerships to promote the sustainability agenda
• Introducing green and sustainability bonds, with the aim of accelerating the adoption of sustainable business models within the energy sector and providing industry players with incentives to pursue energy diversification and sustainability practices.

Arab Petroleum Investments recognises responsibility and hopes to encourage others

Commenting on the ESG policy framework, the company said it recognised the importance of its role and its impact.

“As the world continues to experience unprecedented change, [we recognise] our responsibility to tackle environmental and climate change challenge within our member countries, partners and wider stakeholders”, said Dr. Aabed bin Abdulla Al-Saadoun, Chairman of the Board of Directors of APICORP. “We want to support a transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy by mitigating risks across our operations, supply chain and client transactions by embedding sustainable principles in our business practices. We embark on this journey with the reassurance that all of our member countries are signatories to the 2015 Paris Agreement and participants at COP26 to be held in Glasgow later this year.”

APICORP wants to lead by example when it comes to transitioning to more sustainable energy sources

“Encouraging other partners in our ecosystem to be more mindful of their environmental, governance and societal footprint is therefore integral to our strategy moving forward”, said Dr. Ahmed Ali Attiga, Chief Executive Officer of APICORP. “As a multilateral development bank with exposure to myriad industries within the energy space, we have the added advantage of being able to measure the overall impact more accurately across the regions in which we operate. Equally important, we will continue to drive the ESG agenda in our member countries through our research and knowledge sharing activities, as well as our unique position in advising key policy makers within government and regulatory circles.”