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The agreement will combine QNB’s corporate banking and financing capabilities with GORD’s expertise in the Global Sustainability Assessment System, green building certifications, sustainability advisory services, impact measurement, reporting and capacity building. Under the memorandum the institutions plan to explore green finance products linked to GSAS ratings and associated incentive structures along with integrated financing and advisory packages, customer awareness campaigns and joint training programmes. The partnership seeks to enable companies to align environmental commitments with investment decisions through reliable assessment tools, according to a joint statement issued by the parties.
Yousef Mohammed Al-Horr, founding chairman of the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development, said the collaboration will bring sustainable finance closer to verified assessments. “This cooperation contributes to linking sustainable finance with reliable sustainability assessments more closely, enabling companies to translate their environmental commitments into practical investment decisions,” Al-Horr stated. He added that GORD’s technical expertise and the GSAS framework will support firms in making measurable progress on sustainability targets.
The QNB Group statement described the memorandum as a reflection of its ongoing integration of sustainability into corporate banking solutions. “This also reflects our firm commitment to integrating sustainability principles into our corporate banking solutions, and supporting our clients in their journey towards adopting more sustainable practices and investments,” it continued. The bank noted that the initiative will contribute to objectives in Qatar National Vision 2030 while advancing its own goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Bloomberg Intelligence reported that the MENA sustainable finance market reached $35.1 billion in 2025, marking a sevenfold expansion since 2020 even as issuance moderated from its 2023 high. Financial institutions accounted for nearly half of that total, up from 32 percent in 2020, as banks adopted dedicated sustainability frameworks. In Qatar the Qatar Central Bank released an ESG and sustainable finance strategy in 2024 with the stated aim of establishing the country as a regional hub for such activities.
Qatar sovereign green bond issuance totalled $2.5 billion in 2024, the first such offering in the region, building on an earlier $600 million green bond placed by QNB in 2020, according to central bank and market data. The bank has received recognition as a Green Pioneer in Qatar from the Climate Bonds Initiative and holds an AA ESG rating from MSCI. Comparable agreements between GORD and other local lenders, including QIIB in late 2024 and Dukhan Bank, have similarly focused on green real-estate finance, employee training and development of sustainability-linked lending frameworks.
The latest memorandum extends these efforts by emphasising corporate project financing that incorporates GSAS metrics for eligibility and performance tracking. Previous QNB sustainable products have included green mortgages and vehicle loans that apply GSAS star ratings to determine preferential interest terms. Such tools form part of a wider push across Qatari banks to channel capital toward projects that deliver measurable environmental benefits while supporting the national diversification agenda.
