Emirates NBD Private Banking supports campaign to clean Dubai Creek

Emirates NBD Private Banking supports campaign to clean Dubai Creek

2 Min | 21 October 2018
Bank's Keep the Creek Clean initiative fulfilled by Emirates NBD Private Banking and Group Exchanger volunteers
  • Bank’s Keep the Creek Clean initiative fulfilled by Emirates NBD Private Banking and Group Exchanger volunteers
  • 50 Emirates NBD employees to be trained in Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Open Water/Advanced Open Dive courses

Dubai, 21 October 2018: Emirates NBD Private Banking customers can now enjoy world-class, bespoke wealth management solutions while contributing to conserve one of Dubai’s most famous natural landmarks – the iconic Dubai Creek, from which 50 tonnes of rubbish is cleared every year.

As part of a long-term commitment to supporting water conservation and security in the UAE, Emirates NBD Private Banking has pledged support to the bank’s ‘Keep the Creek Clean’ water conservation initiative which aims to help clean and preserve the UAE’s waterways, in particular the Dubai Creek and its extended channels.

For every new customer, the bank’s Private Banking division will make a monetary contribution to the Keep the Creek Clean programme. In addition, Emirates NBD Group employees will form part of the cleanup team under the bank’s award-winning Exchanger volunteer programme,  

Saod Obaidalla, Executive Vice President, Head of Private Banking, Emirates NBD, said: “As Dubai’s biggest bank, we are committed to preserving the natural heritage of our city by supporting environmentally-focused programmes. Keep the Creek Clean enlists the support of both staff and customers, making it a truly community initiative. In particular, it enables Emirates NBD Private Banking to uniquely offer its customers the opportunity to make an impactful and long-term difference to the UAE’s environment.” 

Obaidalla added, “The Dubai Creek is integral to the history of the city, and today the waterway is not only a tourist attraction but an essential trade route as well as a habitat for marine life. Sustaining the underwater ecosystem and keeping the Creek, as well as our oceans clean is essential to ensure we pass on a sustainable planet to our children, and their children after them.”

Keep the Creek Clean involves training more than 50 Emirates NBD Group employees in PADI Open Water/Advanced Open Dive courses, providing them with the ability to physically join the clean-up at depths of up to 18 meters. With support from Emirates NBD Private Banking, the programme will be equipped with the resources needed to clear tonnes of refuse from the water – including ship parts, cars, tyres, household items, fishing nets and plastic waste – creating a cleaner environment for today’s community and future generations, while encouraging marine biodiversity.

Emirates NBD’s trained divers recently participated in their first clean-up with Dubai Police and Dubai Creek Clean Up programme, clearing waste from the area around Al Hamriya Port. In total, their efforts removed 3 tonnes of waste from the Creek to be recycled or disposed of responsibly. 

Keep the Creek Clean is managed under Emirates NBD Group’s Social Investment Strategy Framework which includes initiatives to support the Environment. The Group’s Exchanger programme which enables UAE-based Emirates NBD staff to exchange their time for social good has completed 26,791 hours of volunteering so far this year. The bank is a pioneer in private sector CSR volunteering and is a member of IMPACT 2030, the corporate volunteering arm of the United Nations. It has recently expanded the Exchanger programme to its business partners, namely suppliers and vendors as well as relatives and friends of staff, in an effort to further volunteering among the UAE community.

To find out more about Emirates NBD’s environmental initiatives, Exchanger programme or to learn more about Private Banking, visit www.emiratesnbd.com.

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