Ecobank has an established procedure that allows the public to make enquiries or express concerns related to the bank’s environmental and social policy and/or projects that it finances. The bank responds to such inquiries in a timely manner. Ecobank’s Corporate Communications Department manages the process of receiving, reviewing, and responding to communications from external stakeholders.
External stakeholders, be they individuals, civil society groups or communities, can submit their questions or concerns to info@ecobank.com Alternatively, they can communicate with Ecobank via social media (Facebook and Twitter) from the Ecobank Group’s website, Ecobank.com
Where the question or concern relates to an Ecobank-financed project, the interested or affected party is first encouraged to discuss the matter directly with the project company. Where the particular company does not address a question or concern satisfactorily at the project level, the enquiring party can submit their query directly to Ecobank in writing, providing the following information:
- Name and contact information of the sender
- Name of the project and/or company to which the concern relates
- Description of the concern and any supporting documentation
- Date of the incident or action giving rise to the complaint (if applicable)
- Specific remedy sought (if applicable)
- Any other information as deemed appropriate by the sender
Ecobank’s Corporate Communications Department will provide a confirmation of receipt of the enquiry to the sender within 72 hours of receiving the written question or concern, and will inform them that they will receive a written response via the medium of original communication within 21 business days.
The Ecobank Corporate Communications Department will review the content of the communication and with input from the bank’s Environmental and Sustainability Unit, will draft a response. Input will be sought from the relevant Relationship Officer/Investment officer responsible for the project or transaction. The Group Head of Corporate Communications will review and approve the draft response within 10 working days. Once it is finalized, Ecobank will relay it to the sender no later than 21 days from the receipt of the original communication.
Where Ecobank considers that the communication from the sender raises serious environmental and/or social issues for a portfolio project, the relevant Relationship Officer/Investment Officer will immediately contact the client to seek any relevant information, and may carry out additional investigation. If this investigation leads the project team to conclude that the project is not meeting Ecobank’s environmental and social policy standards, it will be subject to internal discussions under the bank’s Environmental and Sustainability Remedial Action Plan.
Further to initial acknowledgement of the enquiry, the Ecobank will then send a follow-up response to the sender about any steps requested from the client once the Environmental and Sustainability Remedial Action Plan is ready and accepted by the client. This will be no later than 90 working days from the receipt of the original communication.
Information about this procedure is available on the Ecobank Group’s corporate website as well as in visible places at all Ecobank subsidiaries. There is no cost or fee associated with submitting a question or concern through this procedure. Interested and affected parties may submit queries or concerns without fear of retribution, and may request that Ecobank not disclose the names of individuals to the project company without prior permission.
The Corporate Communications Department will log and track all public enquiries received by way of this procedure, including date received; date the response was sent; and issues raised.