A plastic cup left after a meeting may seem insignificant. A sheet of paper printed unnecessarily may appear harmless. A vehicle making another routine trip may barely register on a company’s environmental balance sheet.
Multiply those small decisions across hundreds of branches, offices and thousands of employees, however, and they become a climate story.
That is the less visible side of NCBA Group’s sustainability journey: changing what happens inside its offices and operations as the bank works toward its 2030 carbon and waste reduction targets.
Through its “Change the Story” sustainability strategy, launched in 2023 with 15 commitments, NCBA is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in direct Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030. At the same time, the bank pledged to eliminate single-use plastics and achieve 100 per cent recycling or responsible management of operational waste.
The journey began with measurement.
In 2023, NCBA conducted a group-wide carbon audit using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, establishing a baseline of about 9,146 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
That baseline gave the bank something more concrete than an environmental ambition: a number against which future progress could be measured.
By 2025, reported operational emissions had dropped by approximately 47 to 49 per cent from the baseline, bringing the bank close to its 2030 target.
Behind that reduction are changes that rarely make headlines
NCBA has been increasing renewable energy use while improving efficiency in energy, water and paper consumption. It has also begun transitioning parts of its vehicle fleet towards electric vehicles in some markets and expanding electric-vehicle charging infrastructure.
Then there is the waste that accumulates after the working day ends.
In 2023, recycling at the bank’s headquarters and pilot branches stood at 34 per cent. Partnerships with TakaTaka Solutions for general waste and Enviroserve Kenya Limited for electronic waste have since helped push recycling rates higher.
At Kenyan head offices, recycling reached 72.88 per cent before general-waste recycling across covered locations rose to 83.6 per cent in 2025. E-waste recycling reached 97.5 per cent.
Even the humble drinking cup has become part of the transformation
Single-use plastics were removed from branches and events in 2023, while plastic tumblers at water dispensers in Kenya were replaced with eco-friendly alternatives.
Tanzania recorded an 18.5 per cent year-on-year reduction in spending on single-use plastics, while Uganda shifted towards sustainable cups and bottles.
Corporate gifting has also changed, with plastic used in wrapping reduced by more than 76 per cent. Yet technology and infrastructure alone cannot deliver such targets.
NCBA has sought to make environmental responsibility part of everyday employee behaviour through its “I Change the Story” training, which reached more than 3,000 employees..
The bank plans to continue quarterly emissions assessments, expand recycling coverage, strengthen ESG capacity among suppliers and remove remaining plastic elements from procurement and gifting.
Its environmental ambitions also extend beyond its buildings. NCBA is incorporating climate risk more deeply into lending and operations while working towards Science Based Targets and Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials standards for financed emissions.
Tree-growing forms another part of the wider effort, with more than 1.3 million trees planted cumulatively.
The significance of NCBA’s approach lies in how an ordinary workplace is being treated as a climate intervention point.
A discarded cup, an old computer, a switched-off light and a vehicle journey may each appear too small to matter.
Inside a large organisation, however, thousands of such choices can add up.
As 2030 approaches, NCBA’s sustainability test will therefore not only be found in its reports. It will also be visible in what its employees use, discard, recycle and replace every day.