Tan Siew Meng, regional head of Global Private Banking, Asia-Pacific at HSBC, on why sustainability is central to building a reputation for trust with forward-thinking families
HSBC Focus
Sustainability, and the need to safeguard our planet’s future, should be high on everyone’s agenda—and these days sustainable investing can mean generating positive returns while also making a positive impact on the world. HSBC Private Banking is committed to leading the way to a sustainable future, partnering with its clients to help finance, manage and shape the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Bank is providing US$100 billion of green financing, enabling the clean-energy, low-carbon technologies that will help to deliver the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As part of its mission to reduce emissions, for example, it is investing in renewable energy companies, working towards a future where 100 per cent of its electricity will come from renewable sources by 2030.
But beyond all that, HSBC’s commitment to sustainability shows up in its relationships with its clients, with the Bank organising a range of hands-on activities to help those clients understand the importance of sustainable investment and appreciate the impact they can make.
Building a sustainable future
Tan and her team believe HSBC Private Banking can provide what many clients are looking for by making sustainability core to the investment advice it offers—a strategy that is more relevant to a generation that is now more engaged with social responsibility and stepping into corporate leadership positions (see below : Entrepreneurs get socially conscious).
HSBC Private Banking’s sustainability programme is different because it shows clients why the topic is important by allowing them to experience and learn for themselves through specially organised experiences. It started out about 10 years ago as a programme to ensure senior staff understood the Bank’s sustainability focus by taking them outside the office to learn about environmental issues first-hand and to appreciate the value of diverse ecosystems; that initiative has now been extended to its clients.
That happened after Jennifer Ting, HSBC Private Banking’s global head of marketing, went to Borneo—and was so impressed by the experience that she felt it should be extended to clients too. “She learnt so much from it, and she felt we should bring it to our clients because the experience was so unique and immersive,” says Tan.
