Emirates NBD Group Is The First Bank In MENA To Commit To Ambitious WELL At Scale With International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)

Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye (MENAT) region, has become the first bank in the MENA region to commit to the ambitious WELL at scale certification with the International Well Building Institute (IWBI), the global authority for transforming health and well-being in buildings, organisations and communities.

WELL at scale is a global standard that prioritises people and performance as an organisation develops economies of scale. The WELL certification forms an evidence-based roadmap for supporting people and organisations.

The certification is the first of its kind in the region and will unite offices of Emirates NBD around a shared vision of health with an enterprise-wide strategy that demonstrates commitment towards health and well-being of the bank’s employees. This initiative brings Emirates NBD closer to being the leading banking institution for well-being and sustainable development in the UAE and the wider region.

Eman Abdulrazzaq, Group Chief Operating Officer at Emirates NBD, said: “We are delighted to partner with the International Well Building Institute, committing to WELL at scale. As a socially responsible bank, Emirates NBD continues its internal sustainability and wellness journey by strengthening our business practices and ensuring our employees work in environments that prioritise their health, comfort and productivity.”

She added: “Emirates NBD has been playing a prominent role in the UAE’s sustainability agenda, and we believe change begins from within the Group. Our people power our potential and progress – they are the heart of everything we have achieved and can aspire to achieve, and their well-being is a blueprint for our success.”                          

Tekha Selim, Executive Vice President and Head of MENA region, International WELL Building Institute, said: “Partnering with Emirates NBD marks a powerful step forward for the region. By adopting WELL at scale, they are putting health, wellbeing, and human experience at the centre of how their spaces support staff, clients and key stakeholders.

He added: “As the first bank in the MENA region to take this step, Emirates NBD is setting a new benchmark for the financial sector and showing what it means to lead with purpose”.

In addition to the WELL at scale programme, the bank further strengthened sustainability commitments by signing the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking in 2024, aligning banking strategies with the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In April 2025, Emirates NBD Group achieved the position as the top organisation across both the commercial and retail sectors in the Middle East, with the most Platinum projects certified under the LEED for Interior Design and Construction (ID+C), underscoring the bank’s unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and pioneering of green building, and aligns with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 Strategy.

In line with Emirates NBD’s ongoing expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Group envisages extending the WELL at scale Certifications to include buildings and branches in KSA as part of Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) and Vision 2030.