Sustainable Action Driven by CIMB

Sustainable action is all about creating positive impacts through our day-to-day business. Our key focus is on promoting sustainability practices in our operations and processes across the group. We set various milestones and commit to initiate tangible steps for addressing sustainability challenges facing our business as well as our stakeholders. We also encourage our people to champion definitive action to mitigate negative impacts and create positive change within our circles of influence as well as the communities where we operate.

We recognise that the climate emergency is real. Global heating is affecting us, our clients’ businesses and communities that matter to us. In response, Governments in our key operating markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand are in the process of strategising their transition to low-carbon economies. Meanwhile, we are committed to work with our peers and other stakeholders to take a precautionary approach to managing the impacts of climate change. The immediate priority is to raise awareness and catalyse action on climate resilience in the financial sector.

Climate Stewardship

Recognising the existential threat, countries around the world, within their jurisdictions, are declaring the climate emergency. The global call-to-action is to accelerate the transition to a climate-resilient, energy-efficient and low-carbon economy.

We understand the urgency and in 2019, at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, we pledged our support for the Collective Commitment to Climate Action. We are one of the 38 Signatories (as at 1 October 2020), with over $13 trillion in assets, joining forces to build on the pioneering Katowice Commitment. We are working with the industry partners, peers, and principals in power to:

Focus our efforts where we have or can have the most significant impact, i.e., on the most carbon intensive and climate-vulnerable sectors within our portfolios.

Develop capabilities and methodologies to measure climate impact, align with global and local climate goals.

Assume public accountability for our climate impact and demonstrate leadership through progressive solutions.

See our first year reporting here as part of our commitment to implement a set of measures to support and accelerate the shift towards low-carbon, climate-resilient technologies.

Energy and Waste Management

Our long-term target is to work with various partners in our value chain and develop mitigation strategies and measures to reduce GHG emissions. Meanwhile, we are taking immediate steps to manage our direct emissions from our operations across CIMB Group. By adopting responsible energy management practices, we are taking steps to reduce energy consumption and eliminate waste without adversely affecting our business and performance.

Our long-term objective is to develop mitigation strategies and measures to minimise our GHG emissions through target-setting, as well as robust energy and waste management practices.

Examples of some of our energy and waste management initiatives are as follows:

Library of Things

CIMB's Library of Things (LOT) is a digital platform for donors to donate their underutilised items and borrowers to have access to them without the burden of ownership. The idea is to promote a circular solution through LOT, where CIMBians can donate unused, good condition items and prevent them from ending up in landfills. Furthermore, it is a place where CIMBians can borrow things for their home, projects, or adventures without the need to purchase new items.

Access CIMB's Library of Things here.

E-Waste Recycling

With an objective to promote awareness on the importance of recycling e-waste, we organised a collective drive at Menara CIMB and Wisma CIMB on 8 May 2019. CIMBians dropped-off their unused electronics and electrical appliances (e-waste) in the collection boxes. Plastics and metals from the e-waste were partially recovered by the vendor before being sent to an authorised recycler (approved by the Department of Environment) for full recovery.

In keeping with our sustainability agenda and sustainable workplace practices, we consciously manage the environmental footprint and/or social impact of our events, training sessions and meetings. The objectives are to design and deliver events that minimise energy consumption, reduce waste, and benefit disadvantaged and/or underrepresented communities and/or stakeholders who need support most. The aspiration is to gradually integrate various sustainability considerations into our standard operating procedures for all CIMB events.

The Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit

The Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit is organised annually to raise awareness and inspire urgent and definitive action towards shaping a more responsible society and a less sweltering planet (hence "Cooler").

For our inaugral summit in 2019, we monitored and managed the environmental footprint of the event by incorporating various green features, including:

In 2020, the summit was held virtually, further reducing the carbon footprint and materials usage of the event. We estimate that our total carbon emissions from all Summit related activities is 28.67 tCO₂e or 0.010 tCO₂e per delegate. We intend to offset five times or 120 tCO2e this year.

Find out more about The Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit 2019 and 2020.

The Music Run

In 2019, The Music Run by CIMB became Malaysia's first carbon neutral mass participation event. In addition to embedding sustainability principles throughout the event, there were also various messages to raise sustainability awareness of more than 20,000 runners. Beyond raising awareness, this event featured the following:

The Cooler Earth Party

This is an annual event for the clients of CIMB Treasury and Markets. The 2019 theme centred around sustainability, with an objective to raise awareness of over 590 clients and their families. Sustainability highlights included:

Recycling awareness activities for children and adults
Recycling-themed Best Dress Contest
Full digital registrations (QR)
Decorations using natural items such as dried leaves, bamboo and preserved flowers. Zero sourcing of single-use material for the event including flyers, plastic, décor and backdrop
Go Green Memorabilia (coffee/tea thermos) to encourage reduction of disposable cups during and after the event
Dato' Zainal Abidin, the famous Malaysia singer, performed the song ‘Hijau’
Partnership with YTL SV carbon for managing and offsetting carbon footprint

Best recycled dress contest: Participants in creative mix and match of classic old clothes, driving home the message to recycle and upcycle clothes and prevent them from going to the landfills.

Other Sustainable Events

Annual Management Summit (AMS)

The Group Annual Management Summit (AMS), saw a total of 300 senior management members from across the region (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Philippines, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the United Kingdom) who gathered to deliberate plans and strategies for 2020.

Sustainability was one of the key discussion topics, supported by dedicated breakout training sessions. Philippe Joubert, Founder & CEO of Earth on Board, delivered a session on sustainable business practices. Various sustainability aspects were considered in organising the event:

Full digital registration (QR) with minimal paper used
Usage of fully digital presentation screens (also promoted TVs instead of tarp at booths)
Complimentary coffee/tea thermos to promote reduction of paper cups during and after the event
Minimal food wastage and zero single-use plastic mineral water bottles

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

CIMB's Annual General Meeting 2019 took place at Sime Darby Convention Centre, which has ISO 50001 Energy Management System accreditation. We started raising sustainability awareness by encouraging shareholders to download the electronic (PDF) version of the Annual Reports, instead of taking printed versions.

We carried out our first fully virtual AGM in 2020, which reduces the need for our shareholders to travel and at the same time reduce carbon footprint.

We recognise the importance of lifecycle thinking for delivering positive environmental and social performance. Supply chain impacts can be significant and can potentially increase costs, as well as be detrimental to our reputation as a sustainable bank. We are continuously assessing our relationships with suppliers in different functions, the nature of procurement services and their EES aspects that are directly linked to our sustainability performance. We are committed to evolve our approach to sustainable supply chain management practices over the next 3-5 years, to include responsible sourcing strategies and supplier’s welfare and development.

Responsible Procurement

Considering that our procurement mission stands for more than short-term gains, we work with our suppliers to go beyond legal compliance and to strive for continuous improvement. All new suppliers are required to disclose their non-involvement in:

Child labour, forced labour and human trafficking

Environmental harm - illegal logging, uncontrolled use of fire for clearing forest lands, natural resource development within UNESCO World Heritage sites (unless there is prior consensus with both the government authorities and UNESCO, etc.)

Transactions linked to the financing of and/or parts of arms and ammunition

We encourage all new suppliers to subscribe to the national and/or the international principles of sustainable development, covering areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. These indicators and disclosures are also part of our procurement supplier due diligence and tender submission processes respectively.

In our internal efforts to preserve the integrity of procurement processes, we partnered with Group Human Resource to raise awareness to all staff on procurement ethics.

Vendor Code of Conduct

Today, all new procurement suppliers interested to work or collaborate with CIMB are required to register on the Group Electronic Procurement System (“GEPS”). GEPS serves as the first touchpoint for our suppliers when accessing any part of the CIMB Procurement process, including the Vendor Code of Conduct (VCOC).

All suppliers go through an onboarding process that also provides an orientation on EES-related guidelines in the VCOC. The suppliers can understand CIMB’s sustainability position as well as our policies on anti-corruption, human rights and environment.

From the GEPS homepage, suppliers can also access the CIMB Group Whistleblowing Policy as well as various communication channels, which are confidential avenues to report suspected unethical, illegal or improper behaviour. All disclosures and reports are treated confidentially.

Our people and their talent are the machinery behind all growth. Motivated by our shared values, they catalyse change, solve complex problems, and challenge the norms for greater good. Together, our people shape our inclusive #TeamCIMB culture, with a sense of belonging and respect for each other, instilling pride in association and driving performance.

We therefore recognise the need to equip our people with special skills that will prepare them to manage the present and emerging risks and opportunities for both personal and professional growth. This also means empowering them with the skills of tomorrow and offering horizontal and vertical career and education paths.

Find out more about our DNA.

Our Values

Values for a better CIMB:

C - Customer Obsessed

H - High Performance

I - Integrity

D - Diversity and Inclusion

A - Agility

Customer Obsessed

We are here for our customers, to ensure they're happy and satisfied.

High Performance

We always strive to go above and beyond in everything we do.

Integrity

We're always honest, responsible and accountable in everything we do. Be vigilant, be alert, be thorough.

Diversity and Inclusion

We believe everyone has something to contribute, regardless of race, gender or opinions.

Agility

We must respond quickly to change and be problem solvers.

CIMB Workplace Wellness

We promote work-life flexibility to enhance workplace wellness and help individuals achieve quality of life and personal effectiveness. Workplace Wellness@CIMB is a comprehensive work-life initiative to support our people with their professional and personal aspirations. It covers all aspects of welfare and wellbeing – physical, mental, financial and spiritual – grouped under four key pillars as below.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion strengthen our organisation. They are about empowering people by respecting their identity, their ideas, and their aspirations. It is the uniqueness of each employee that drives the company forward, fostering creative solutions and positive results to serve our customers, business associates, stakeholders and the community at large. We are committed to meritocracy, providing equal opportunities for employment, development and career progression, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality or age. At CIMB, we aim to establish clear linkages between various dimensions of diversity (which is one of our core values) and employee morale, productivity, and their ability to innovate. It is also important to equip our diverse employees with opportunities to demonstrate their leadership and increase their share of voice in organisational decision-making processes.

CIMB Group Diversity Statement

At CIMB, we celebrate diversity. We recognise that employees are our greatest asset and it is the uniqueness of each of these individuals that drives the company forward. We believe diversity contributes to bringing creative solutions and positive results to serve our customers, business associates, stakeholders and the community at large. We take deliberate efforts to foster inclusiveness through our corporate values.

We instil in our employees the culture of respect, open engagement and teamwork, and we reinforce these behaviours in our daily work life. We are committed to strive towards providing equal opportunities for employment and development and career progression based on merits, without regard to their ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality or age. We promote work-life flexibility to enhance workplace wellness and help individuals to achieve quality of life and personal effectiveness. As a company with a firm foothold in ASEAN, our strength lies in our diversity and we will continue to uphold and champion our core values.

Succession Planning

We believe that effective and efficient mechanisms to manage talent can ensure business continuity, productivity, performance and competitiveness. Hence, succession planning across all mission-critical functions of the organisation remains our priority. We seek opportunities to continuously upskill our high-potential talent, as well as maintain levels of motivation. We build trust and loyalty by making way for career satisfaction and growth.

Digital Skills Training

We recognise the need to continuously boost the skills of both our current and future workforce. One of our future-proof strategies has been to establish the CIMB 3D (Digital, Data, and Design) Academy. While the idea is to enhance the digital quotient of all CIMBians across functions, our long-term aspiration is to build an agile, innovative and tech-savvy workforce, which will meaningfully contribute to the digital transformation of the Group.

The 3D Academy competency framework is anchored on six pillars, namely digital world awareness; agile and entrepreneurial thinking; future communication skills; risk and governance; human-centred design; and data science and analytics.

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2019 Sustainability Report

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