Sustainability at UBL symbolizes the highest standards of social responsibility. By building an all-inclusive sustainability agenda, the Bank intends to further shape its sustainability efforts towards its mission of a self-reliant Pakistan.
In 2016, UBL’s sustainability efforts focused on the key sectors of education and health in partnership with specialist organizations.
The Forman Christian College (FCC) in Lahore formally inaugurated their School of Business and Social Sciences Block, the construction of which began in 2014. Named the ‘Sir Anwar Pervez Social Sciences Block’, this PKR 150 million project was funded by both the Bestway Foundation and UBL and now provides increased classroom space, auditoriums and faculty offices for the university.
Furthermore, Namal College in Mianwali was assisted in the construction of four computer labs at its campus. The bank also contributed to the scholarship programs of prestigious educational institutions like LUMS and Bahauddin Zakariya University.
UBL supported many health-care causes across Pakistan during 2016. Donations were given to Shalamar Hospital & Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center for one of its clinics in Bagh Banni Passari in Azad Kashmir and The Kidney Center in Karachi, among others.
Community Welfare was another area of concentration for the bank’s sustainability efforts in 2016. One of the main projects in this area was the rehabilitation of the people displaced by the devastating 2013 earthquake in Awaran, Baluchistan. UBL continued its ‘Niabat Village’ project with a local NGO, Indus Earth Trust, to build homes for the dislocated families and helped provide them a secure shelter.
Further efforts in this area were through donations to institutions like the SOS Children’s Village and the Edhi Foundation.
2016 saw UBL consolidate its sustainability agenda towards its core focus area of education. Looking ahead, the bank intends to continue in 2017 with an even stronger affirmation to enhance its sustainability efforts reaching across a wider and more diverse audience of recipients.