Ms. Angela Joo-Hyun Kang, Founder and Executive President of Global Competitiveness Empowerment Forum (GCEF) was invited by POSCO PR Group to contribute CSR column series about global companies famous for their CSR leadership. The following column was about HSBC.
POSCO News - Thursday, August 4, 2011
* Web link: http://www.posco.co.kr/homepage/docs/kor2/jsp/news/posco/s91fpdf001l.jsp?onload=Y
Global CSR Leadership - HSBC
"Why does the financial group, HSBC go to jungles?"
By Angela Joo-Hyun Kang, Founder & Executive President of GCEF (Global Competitiveness Empowerment Forum)
*** Supporting global environmental organizations through US $100 million worth of HSBC Climate Partnership program
*** Running waste water treatment projects in the world’s four major rivers including the Amazon etc… benefiting more than 450 million people
*** Encouraging more than 40,000 employees to discover climate change and to volunteer by measuring the condition of trees in jungles
All of the four great civilizations were built close to rivers. In Mesopotamia, civilization emerged around the Tigris and Euphrates River; the Yellow River civilization occurred around the Yellow River in China; the Indus Valley civilization originated from the Indus River, and the Egyptian civilization stemmed from the Nile River. Historically, rivers are the symbols of human prosperity. Depending on the culture, rivers have different meanings: for example, the River Ganges, or Ganga in northern India, is a holy river with religious meaning for 800 million Hindus. However, rivers around the world that once nourished flourishing historical civilizations have deteriorated. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, they have changed from sacred objects to targets of development.
One corporation is making an effort to solve environmental problems by acting as a guardian of suffering rivers and jungles and ecosystems: its name is Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). HSBC, headquartered in the UK, is a global financial group which does business in 87 countries around the world.
HSBC, a global company whose motto is ‘The world’s local bank’, operates in ways that meet local needs. HSBC realizes its motto even through its environmental protection activities. HSBC Climate Partnership is its signature activity. In May 2007, HSBC Group launched the HSBC Climate Partnership: a five-year US $100 million partnership with The Climate Group, Earthwatch, The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Together these key partners operate climate centers across 5 continents. Their efforts measure the impacts of climate change in 40 jungles across 21 countries as well as protecting global rivers such as the Amazon, the Thames River, the Ganges and the Yangtze. Through these efforts they have benefited 450 million people who depend on these rivers for survival. One special note is that this partnership generates greater effects through close collaboration with stakeholders. Their method of treating wastewater takes into account the dolphins which live in the river. This kind of assistance helps India’s government to manage the Ganges river.
About 40,000 HSBC employees around the world are hidden heroes. Members of staff selected as ‘Climate Champions’ measure the conditions of trees in jungles, collect soil samples and engage in on-the-spot volunteer activities to experience climate change and learn about sustainability. When they return to work, these Climate Champions apply the experiences and knowledge gained from their activities. They use this knowledge to develop new sustainable banking products and apply environmental risk assessment in lending practices. They also become active participants of environmental management activities.
The scope of research supported by HSBC Climate Partnership is extensive. 33 global research institutions and 42 PhD scientists with 99 researchers endeavored to issue18 scientific publications. The amount of time that was invested for researches and activities by scientists and HSBC Climate Champions is more than 500,000 hours. They play an important role as guardians of the jungles by measuring the carbon dioxide levels of over 200,000 trees and using these to analyze the impacts of climate change.
The role of a guardian is not limited to members of the organization; HSBC customers in the UK and Hong Kong are also participating. The UK Together campaign saved 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and US $500 million in expenses by reducing household paper bills. In Hong Kong, HSBC led a customer movement by distributing DIY toolkits to reduce the carbon footprint by 20%. Also, HSBC volunteer staff in 15 countries helped to educate schools by measuring their carbon footprints and improve the efficiency of their environmental management.
HSBC is fighting climate change by mobilizing the assistance of children, youth, ordinary citizens, climate change experts and its employees, and by uniting the efforts of governments, NGOs and industries. HSBC helps to make a hopeful and global village for humankind by endeavoring to protect the earth and future, so that the next generation will be able to satisfy their desires and needs. <The End>
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