Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

The Bank attaches great importance to sustainable social responsibility based on its commitment to the role it plays in the community, and in line with the legitimate purpose of helping others. Based on this commitment, PIB allocates a portion of its annual net profits for its sustainable social responsibility program.

In 2022, PIB implemented more than 145 projects as part of its sustainable social responsibility program, focusing on health and education, as they are essential to achieving sustainable development. It also supported other areas such as people with special needs, marginalized groups, creativity, youth, women empowerment, and others.

Projects of 2022

Education

Education is a vital and essential sector for achieving sustainable development. It has therefore received the lion’s share in PIB’s support within its sustainable social responsibility program. In 2022, PIB implemented 71 projects aimed at supporting educational institutions in various governorates.

The support provided consisted of infrastructure development of educational institutions and providing them with educational supplies, equipment and means to allow them to perform their role towards students to the fullest extent.

Health

The health sector is the second biggest beneficiary of PIB’s social responsibility projects. In 2022, PIB implemented 29 partnerships with health institutions through which it provided support to improve the level of health services provided across different governorates. In this context, PIB continued its support to the Central Blood Bank, the Red Crescent Society, the Palestinian Center for Diabetic Foot, and many other hospitals and health centers.

As part of its efforts to alleviate the suffering of cancer patients, PIB covered the costs of medical transportation for dozens of cancer patients through the "Basmat Amal" (Smile of Hope) Foundation in Gaza. It also supported a project to purchase a bus to transport cancer patients undertaken by the Makassed Charitable Association Hospital in Jerusalem.

Sustainable development

In addition to PIB’s support to the health and education sectors, it also contributes to the achievement of the sustainable development goals. In fact, the Bank provided support to many development projects through partnerships with more than 21 institutions in 2022, such as SOS Children's Villages, Injaz Palestine and other development institutions and associations. PIB also covered the annual maintenance of desalination plants in the Gaza Strip, which provide drinking water to tens of thousands of citizens.

Relief

PIB seeks to improve the living conditions of Palestinians, especially families in need, and provide them with decent living conditions.

It therefore provides annual support to a number of institutions and associations in this field. It also has ongoing partnerships with Falkhair Foundation and the National Security Forces, through which many schools and homes were renovated across the country in 2022.

People with disability

The Bank attaches great importance to supporting people with special needs as part of its social responsibility program, to integrate and empowere them.

As part of these efforts, it provided support in 2021 to many entities that help people with special needs, such as the Jasmine Charitable Society and Dar Al-Salam Association in Ramallah and Al-Bireh, the Sanad Association in Nablus, the Al-Amal Charity Association for the Deaf in Qalqilya, and the Friendship Association for Autistic Children in Gaza. This will allow these foundations to continue to provide services and support to people with special needs.

Renewed commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter

PIB renewed its commitment to the principles of the UN Charter by publishing its annual report for the third year in a row showing the responsible and sustainable policies it adopts in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and combating corruption.

The ten principles of the UN Charter can be summarized as follows:

• Human rights

1. Companies must support, respect and protect internationally recognized human rights.
2. Companies must ensure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

• Labor

1. Companies should support freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
2. Companies must eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labor.
3. Companies must effectively abolish child labour.
4. Companies must eliminate discrimination in employment and professions.

• The environment

1. Companies should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
2. Companies should take initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
3. Companies should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

• Combating corruption

1. Companies must combat corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

The Bank submits an annual report confirming its commitment to implementing policies related to the ten principles and clarifying the most prominent practices it undertakes in this context.

Palestine Islamic Bank Award for Scientific Research

As part of its permanent commitment to support scientific research efforts in Palestine, PIB launched its annual award for scientific research, in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, for the eighth year in a row.

The award aims to encourage researchers to increase their production and conduct original and specialized research that adds new value to knowledge. It is supervised by a jury of qualified specialists in scientific research from different Palestinian universities.

The award includes several axes:

• The impact of financial technology (FINTECH) on the banking and financial services sector and its applications in the Islamic financial industry.
• Teaching, learning and commerce in the age of technology and artificial intelligence.
• Quality assurance and control in banking and higher education institutions.
• Applied sciences (land, water, agriculture) and their role in promoting local production.
• Health sciences (epidemiology and diseases) in the Palestinian context.

Target groups

• Researchers and academics in Palestinian higher education institutions.
• Postgraduate students in Palestinian universities.
• Researchers in scientific research centers licensed by the Ministry.

In this context, PIB supported the holding of a national scientific research workshop organized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. It discussed ways to develop and strengthen the scientific research system and its outputs in Palestine, with the participation of a number of researchers, specialists, and representatives of higher education institutions.

Employee volunteering program

As part of PIB’s sustainable social responsibility program, a series of volunteer activities were organized across the country, to confirm the social role that the Bank plays and promote a culture of volunteering among employees. Volunteering is important in promoting a sense of belonging and developing the values of good citizenship. The following are the most prominent of these activities:

1. Volunteering to plant trees in Tulkarm in cooperation with the municipality.
2. Volunteering for carrying out recreational activities for the Friends of the Islamic Orphanage in Al-Eizariya.
3. Volunteering to plant trees and clean the town of Kafr Thulth in Qalqilya, in cooperation with the municipality of Kafr Thulth.
4. Volunteering to plant trees in the town of Dura in cooperation with the municipality.
5. Volunteering to carry out recreational activities for children with cancer at Al-Najah Hospital in Nablus.
6. Volunteering to plant trees in the town of Tamoun in Tubas, in cooperation with the municipality of Tamoun.
7. Volunteering to plant trees and clean Ain Al-Sultan camp in Jericho, in cooperation with the camp committee.
8. Volunteering to carry out recreational activities for children with cancer in cooperation with the Basmat Amal Foundation for cancer patients in Gaza.
9. Volunteering to carry out recreational activities for Al-Wafa Association for Elderly Care in Gaza.
10. Volunteering to paint, maintain and arrange a public park in Gaza.
11. Volunteering to clean part of the seashore in cooperation with the municipalities of Khan Yunis and Rafah

Clean Energy

Since 2014, the Bank has increasingly relied on clean energy sources to obtain the energy needed to perform its activities, to help preserve and care for the environment. Allah The Almighty says: "Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good" Surah Al-A'raf: Verse 56.

The impact of the Bank’s environmental policies in one year has been to plant the equivalent of 500 acres of trees (2,100 dunums).

The Bank protects the environment in six key ways:

• Depending on a solar energy system to operate alarms, computers, lighting and ATM systems.
• Replacing lighting and energy-consuming devices (such as printers and air conditioners) with energy-saving versions.
• Educating employees about the economics and rationalization of energy consumption.
• Pumping excess electricity production produced from solar energy in the Bank's facilities to the public network.
• Increasing dependence on digitization and providing a wide range of banking services through electronic channels for clients and completing internal transactions electronically, thereby reducing the volume of paper transactions and reducing the amount of paper consumed.
• Depending on an automatic cleaning system for solar panels that increases solar energy production by approximately 10%.

The number of sites which benefit from the Bank’s solar energy system increased to 15 branches and offices. The productivity rate of these sites is 1.6 megawatts of electricity per day, equivalent to 600 megawatts of electricity annually, which provides an environment free of the carbon dioxide emissions, which result from the use of generators. Annual harmful gas emissions that were avoided due to the use of alternative energy were estimated as follow:

The Bank plans to maximize the benefits of clean energy and increase its production, in innovative ways that contribute to improving the environment.

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