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Driving the green movement

Singapore

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OCBC Bank is the first bank in Southeast Asia to stop funding new coal plants, and its business and community initiatives have been key in driving the green energy movement in the region.

 

Guided by its purpose and values, OCBC Bank helps individuals and businesses across communities achieve their aspirations by providing innovative financial services that meet their needs. The values they embrace are encapsulated by the acronym LIFRR – Lasting Value, Integrity, Forward Looking, Respect and Responsibility. OCBC Bank believes that putting its purpose and values at the heart of everything it does will lead to good business outcomes.

 

Moving from funding coal power plants to sustainable finance

As Southeast Asia’s second-largest financial institution, OCBC Bank has been at the forefront of various efforts that support climate action. It became the first bank in Southeast Asia to make a bold commitment to stop financing new coal-fired power plants on 16 April 2019. This created a positive momentum – Singapore’s two other local banks, which are key regional players, made the same commitment within the same month.

 

This commitment by OCBC Bank was the catalyst of a renewed green push and expedited its efforts to play a leading role in Asian sustainable finance to accelerate change. In October 2019, shortly after committing to not financing new coal-fired power plants, OCBC Bank became one of the first banks in the region to make a public commitment to build a sustainable finance portfolio worth S$10 billion (US$7 billion) by 2022.

 

OCBC Bank eventually surpassed this target two years ahead of schedule in the first quarter of 2020. A new sustainable finance target of S$25 billion by 2025 was set and again eclipsed ahead of schedule – it achieved S$34 billion in sustainable finance commitments by the end of 2021. In February 2022, it doubled its 2025 target to S$50 billion. As of June 2022, its commitment had grown to S$37 billion. The bank has funded sustainable projects in the region, from wind and solar farms to electric cars, hybrid buses and solar panel installations.

 

Apart from its sustainable finance commitments, the bank is committed to achieving carbon-neutral banking operations in 2022. To that end, more than S$25 million will be invested in decarbonisation efforts in Singapore, Malaysia and Greater China.

 

Weaving sustainability into its strategy

The bank’s commitment to sustainability has been formalised into its strategies – namely its corporate strategy to “Excel for Sustainable Growth,” of which environmental sustainability is a key pillar, and its Climate Strategy, a five-year roadmap with three priorities: moving towards net-zero emissions in alignment with Paris Agreement goals, expanding sustainable financing and the bank’s sustainability-themed product portfolio, as well as growing a bank-wide ecosystem of sustainable solutions and partnerships.

 


OCBC Sustainability Innovation Challenge, October 2022. (L-R) Lin Qing Yao, Close-The-Loop Manager, Tria; Bryan Sim, Sales Director, Tria; and Spencer Low, Chief Data and Sustainability Officer at SATS

 

A recent initiative under the Climate Strategy was the OCBC Sustainability Challenge, launched in June 2022 to identify sustainability-related challenges faced by its corporate customers and source for global solutions that can be commercialised.

 

The financial industry may be competitive and ever-changing, but OCBC Bank will always make it an imperative to be a responsible banker to society and remain resolute in its commitment to sustainability and climate action so that it can do well and do good.

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OCBC Bank commemorated its 90th anniversary in October 2022. It is the longest-established Singapore bank, born out of the Great Depression in 1932 from the merger of three local banks. Today, OCBC Bank has over 420 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions, including its key markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China.

 

OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.

The SL25 partners - Stewardship Asia Centre, the INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, WTW and The Straits Times - are not responsible for the statements and opinions expressed by the organisations behind the SL25 projects. These organisations are responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of their content in their applications as well as those presented on this site, which are not guaranteed by the SL25 partners. All information on this site reflects the submissions received as of 30 May 2024, the closing application date for SL25. Inclusion to the SL25 list is based on the particular project(s) described in the application form. SL25 is not intended as a blanket endorsement of the organisation as a whole.
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Driving the green movement

Singapore

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OCBC Bank is the first bank in Southeast Asia to stop funding new coal plants, and its business and community initiatives have been key in driving the green energy movement in the region.
OCBC Bank is the first bank in Southeast Asia to stop funding new coal plants, and its business and community initiatives have been key in driving the green energy movement in the region.

 

Guided by its purpose and values, OCBC Bank helps individuals and businesses across communities achieve their aspirations by providing innovative financial services that meet their needs. The values they embrace are encapsulated by the acronym LIFRR – Lasting Value, Integrity, Forward Looking, Respect and Responsibility. OCBC Bank believes that putting its purpose and values at the heart of everything it does will lead to good business outcomes.

 

Moving from funding coal power plants to sustainable finance

As Southeast Asia’s second-largest financial institution, OCBC Bank has been at the forefront of various efforts that support climate action. It became the first bank in Southeast Asia to make a bold commitment to stop financing new coal-fired power plants on 16 April 2019. This created a positive momentum – Singapore’s two other local banks, which are key regional players, made the same commitment within the same month.

 

This commitment by OCBC Bank was the catalyst of a renewed green push and expedited its efforts to play a leading role in Asian sustainable finance to accelerate change. In October 2019, shortly after committing to not financing new coal-fired power plants, OCBC Bank became one of the first banks in the region to make a public commitment to build a sustainable finance portfolio worth S$10 billion (US$7 billion) by 2022.

 

OCBC Bank eventually surpassed this target two years ahead of schedule in the first quarter of 2020. A new sustainable finance target of S$25 billion by 2025 was set and again eclipsed ahead of schedule – it achieved S$34 billion in sustainable finance commitments by the end of 2021. In February 2022, it doubled its 2025 target to S$50 billion. As of June 2022, its commitment had grown to S$37 billion. The bank has funded sustainable projects in the region, from wind and solar farms to electric cars, hybrid buses and solar panel installations.

 

Apart from its sustainable finance commitments, the bank is committed to achieving carbon-neutral banking operations in 2022. To that end, more than S$25 million will be invested in decarbonisation efforts in Singapore, Malaysia and Greater China.

 

Weaving sustainability into its strategy

The bank’s commitment to sustainability has been formalised into its strategies – namely its corporate strategy to “Excel for Sustainable Growth,” of which environmental sustainability is a key pillar, and its Climate Strategy, a five-year roadmap with three priorities: moving towards net-zero emissions in alignment with Paris Agreement goals, expanding sustainable financing and the bank’s sustainability-themed product portfolio, as well as growing a bank-wide ecosystem of sustainable solutions and partnerships.

 


OCBC Sustainability Innovation Challenge, October 2022. (L-R) Lin Qing Yao, Close-The-Loop Manager, Tria; Bryan Sim, Sales Director, Tria; and Spencer Low, Chief Data and Sustainability Officer at SATS

 

A recent initiative under the Climate Strategy was the OCBC Sustainability Challenge, launched in June 2022 to identify sustainability-related challenges faced by its corporate customers and source for global solutions that can be commercialised.

 

The financial industry may be competitive and ever-changing, but OCBC Bank will always make it an imperative to be a responsible banker to society and remain resolute in its commitment to sustainability and climate action so that it can do well and do good.

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OCBC Bank commemorated its 90th anniversary in October 2022. It is the longest-established Singapore bank, born out of the Great Depression in 1932 from the merger of three local banks. Today, OCBC Bank has over 420 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions, including its key markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China.

 

OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.

The SL25 partners - Stewardship Asia Centre, the INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, WTW and The Straits Times - are not responsible for the statements and opinions expressed by the organisations behind the SL25 projects. These organisations are responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of their content in their applications as well as those presented on this site, which are not guaranteed by the SL25 partners. All information on this site reflects the submissions received as of 30 May 2024, the closing application date for SL25. Inclusion to the SL25 list is based on the particular project(s) described in the application form. SL25 is not intended as a blanket endorsement of the organisation as a whole.
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