UAE: Want to plant a tree? Open a bank account or stay in a hotel room

As part of its initiative to make UAE greener, Dubai Islamic Bank announced that will plant a tree for every new customer who opens a DIB account. For this project, Dubai Islamic Bank has tied with up with two NGOs in this domain, Emirates Environmental Group and The Storey Group. In addition, the customers of the bank who open an account with the lender will receive specific information on the trees dedicated to them. The trees under this project will be planted on on land as well as mangrove forest.

"Through this novel initiative, the Bank has not only taken a decisive step towards effective climate action, it has also ensured significant and sustained impact by including its customers and fostering a community of environmentally-conscious individuals," Dubai Islamic Bank said in a statement.

Dubai will be hosting the 28th edition of the global conference on climate change (COP 28 ) from November 30 to December 12, 2023. UAE was the first country in the region to ratify the Paris Agreement while it also announced an ambitious Net Zero strategic initiative by 2050.


“The One Tree for Everyone” initiative reflects DIB’s total commitment and strategic intent towards sustainability and climate change. ESG is fully embedded in our business strategy and will effectively govern and dictate our operations going forward. We believe that, as the largest Islamic financial institution in the UAE, our responsibility is to not just align ourselves through reducing the Group’s own carbon footprint but to also play a pivotal role in influencing, transforming and deliberately changing the way our customers and the wider community view climate action and sustainability The time to change is now and Dubai Islamic Bank is moving ahead on this incredible journey aligned to the UAE Net Zero 2050 agenda,” said Adnan Chilwan, Group Chief Executive Officer at DIB.

UAE's Rove Hotels has also pledged to sow one tree per every room booked during the COP28 dates – 30th November to 12th December. The hotel has partnered with W&A Consular and with Eden Reforestation Projects for the green initiative and plans to achieve the milestone of at least 28,000 trees planted before the end of 2023.