Emirates NBD’s claim to the title Middle East’s best bank for ESG rests on more than stated ambitions. In 2025, the UAE’s largest banking group by assets facilitated $9.9 billion in sustainable finance transactions, brought its cumulative mobilisation to more than $20 billion – 70% of its $30 billion target for 2030 – and executed two instruments that were firsts not just for the region but globally.
The bank updated its disclosure framework to integrate International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) requirements in a single report, and extended its ESG commitments from the balance sheet into operations, supply chains and community programmes.
Following the landmark $500 million sustainability-linked loan financing bond (SLLB) in December 2024 – the world’s first SLLB under the updated International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and Loan Market Association (LMA) guidelines – Emirates NBD moved quickly to replicate the structure in Islamic format. In August 2025, its subsidiary Emirates Islamic issued a $500 million sustainability-linked financing sukuk, the world’s first of its kind, listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai. Full allocation was achieved within the year, independently assured by ISS Corporate Solutions.
As an investment bank, Emirates NBD Capital (EmCap) ranked in the top 20 global coordinators for emerging-market ESG bonds and top 15 for labelled loans during the period, according to Bond Radar and the Environmental Finance Sustainable Loans Insight, respectively.
Total social contributions in 2025 reached AED54.5 million across education, humanitarian aid, health and community development
Emirates NBD provided AED3.9 billion in green financing to the Dubai Metro Blue Line consortium – part of a project with a total value of AED20.5 billion, scheduled for completion in 2029. A partnership with Siemens established a replicable financing framework for large-scale green infrastructure projects aligned with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 strategy. The bank also booked AED264 million in green auto loans over the year. Financing of sustainability-linked, green and social loans exceeded $4.5 billion, up more than 80% year-on-year.
External ratings reflect the substance behind the deal flow: MSCI upgraded Emirates NBD to AA, its highest regional ranking; while Sustainalytics recorded its best-ever score for the bank, placing it fifth among banks globally on that measure.
Disclosure kept pace with the transactional record. As well as integrating IFRS S1 and S2, TNFD and GRI requirements into one report, in January 2026 Emirates NBD released a net-zero transition plan aligned with the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) framework – another regional first. The bank also launched a generative AI-powered chatbot linked directly to its sustainability report, fielding close to 800 bespoke enquiries in the period.
On the social side, the bank’s Exchanger volunteer programme marked its 10th year, with more than 160,000 hours contributed to causes reaching more than 1.1 million beneficiaries. Total social contributions in 2025 reached AED54.5 million across education, humanitarian aid, health and community development. Women held 20.6% of leadership roles, against a target of 25% by 2027, and the bank became a signatory to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. Internally, 214 supplier ESG risk assessments were completed as part of a broader responsible procurement programme.
Emirates NBD, under group CEO Shayne Nelson, was awarded the Dubai Chamber of Commerce ESG Label for a second consecutive year and received the Gold Impact Seal from Majra, the national corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund. With 53 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum and Gold certified branches – more than any other bank in the Middle East – its operational footprint matches the ambition of its financing targets.
