From Ambition to Action
Building a Sustainable Advantage
DBS Group Holdings Ltd
Sustainability Report 2023
CEO Message | Highlights | Approach | Pillar 1 Responsible Banking | Pillar 2 Responsible Business Practices | Pillar 3 Impact Beyond Banking | Additional Disclosures | CONTENTS |
Contents
CEO Message
4 CEO message
Highlights
6 Highlights
Approach
7 Our sustainability strategy
8 Governance of sustainability
10 Stakeholder engagement
12 Material ESG factors
13 Human rights
Pillar 1
Responsible Banking
16 Responsible financing
37 Sustainable living
40 Financial inclusion
Pillar 2
Responsible
Business Practices
46 Enhancing employee engagement
- and culture
49 Developing our people
52 Driving diversity, equity and inclusion
59 Managing our environmental footprint
64 Sustainable procurement
67 Technology resilience
-
(including cyber security) 70 Data governance
74 Preventing financial crime
77 Fair dealing
79 Responsible tax management
Pillar 3
Impact Beyond Banking
82 DBS Foundation
87 Employee volunteerism
92 Towards Zero Food Waste
Additional Disclosures
94 Summary of performance and targets 96 10 Principles of UN Global Compact
97 GRI Content Index
102 SASB Standards
104 Mapping to TCFD recommendations
105 Methodology3for climate scenario analysis modelling
106 Selected ESG-related awards, indices and ratings 107 Commitments and memberships
109 Independent3limited assurance report on sustainability information
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Introduction
About us
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are also among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named "World's Best Bank" by Global Finance, "World's Best Bank" by Euromoney and "Global Bank of the Year" by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking and has been named "World's Best Digital Bank" by Euromoney and the world's "Most Innovative in Digital Banking" by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the "Safest Bank in Asia" award by Global Finance for 15 consecutive years from 2009 to 2023.
About this report
This Sustainability Report is approved by the Board and prepared in accordance with, and taking reference to, the following regulations, standards, and guidelines:
• Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST) Listing Rules 711A and 711B on Sustainability Report, and Practice Note 7.6 Sustainability Reporting Guide (updated January 2022)
• The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations by the Financial Stability Board (updated October 2021)
• The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards 2021 (updated July 2021)
• The Financial Institutions Climate-related Disclosure Document under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-convened Green Finance Industry Taskforce (published May 2021)
• The Guidelines for Climate Target Setting for Banks by the UN Environment Programme - Finance Initiative (issued April 2021)
• The Guidelines on Responsible Financing issued in October 2015 by the Association of Banks in Singapore (revised June 2018)
• The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards based on the three SICS industries within the Financials sector most aligned with our mix of businesses: Commercial Banks (FN-CB), Consumer Finance (FN-CF), and Mortgage Finance (FN-MF)
We are a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Global Compact and are committed to the 10 Principles.
Coverage
This report covers the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, initiatives and performance of our operations across our core markets. It contains information for the financial year 1 January to 31 December 2023, unless otherwise stated. In 2023, DBS completed the acquisition of Citigroup Inc.'s consumer banking business in Taiwan (Citi Consumer Taiwan). The scope of this report includes Citi Consumer Taiwan for employee-related data, and selected initiatives, but excludes operational environmental data as integration of reporting systems is still underway. Our sustainability reporting processes are subjected to internal review, with selected indicators also subjected to external assurance as detailed on pages 109 to 110. The report is to be read in conjunction with the Annual Report 2023and other sustainability-related disclosures on our website.
Feedback
We welcome feedback on this report and any aspect of our sustainability performance. Please address all feedback to DBS Group Sustainability at sustainability@dbs.com.
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CEO Message | Highlights | Approach | Pillar 1 Responsible Banking | Pillar 2 Responsible Business Practices | Pillar 3 Impact Beyond Banking | Additional Disclosures | CONTENTS |
CEO Message
"We materially expanded our client engagement with large corporate customers on climate to deliver on the bold commitments we made in 2022... Apart from offering advisory services related to our clients' net zero transition journeys, we translated this engagement into finance solutions. Our sustainable financing (for loans and trade finance) commitments, net of repayments, was around SGD 70 billion as of December."
2023 was a year of many struggles but also accomplishments, and it underscored how the virtues of hard work and perseverance give rise to hope.
Challenges were abundant. The war between Russia and Ukraine raged on, additional armed conflicts broke out, most notably between Israel and Hamas, and tensions between the superpowers remained high. All these complicated geopolitics further and contributed to economic headwinds. While inflation eased after global central banks aggressively hiked rates, it persisted at elevated levels. Consequently, both consumers and businesses continued to face significant strain.
Despite this, a hard landing of the global economy was avoided. In particular, most of Asia's economies remained robust. China and India, the two most populous economies of the world, both ended the year with a higher growth
rate than in 2022. And the outlook for Southeast Asian economies improved, as the electronics export cycle bottomed out and travel and tourism continued to recover.
On the climate front, we witnessed an unprecedented number of new records this past year. June to December were the warmest months on record. Ocean temperatures were the hottest ever measured. All of this has been exacerbated by the start of El Niño, a natural climate shift that tends to raise global temperatures. But the science is clear, the trajectory of global warming can only be changed if we reduce historically high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at speed and scale.
Tragically, the impacts from climate change on the economy and society are becoming ever more evident. Studies have shown that insured and uninsured economic losses resulting from extreme climate-related weather conditions
Piyush Gupta, CEO DBS Group Holdings
in 2023 were significantly higher than recent averages. The number of people directly impacted by these calamities reached new highs, with the poor disproportionately affected, worsening social inequalities.
Encouragingly, governments and regulators around the world have implemented an increasing number of meaningful policies that support the transition to net zero, which is being complemented by significant efforts of the private sector to transform global industries and supply chains.
Globally, investments in clean energy overtook spending on fossil fuel at a ratio of 1.7:1, according to the International Energy Agency. Just five years ago, this ratio stood at 1:1. Additionally, 118 countries pledged at the COP28 climate summit to triple the world's renewable energy capacity
by 2030. The electrification of transport has greatly accelerated across markets, and battery production has been scaling up. Nearer to home, ASEAN ramped up its efforts to decarbonise and aims to create green corridors. China's decarbonisation efforts have been astounding. For example, in 2023 it installed over half of the world's total renewable power generation capacity, grew to become the world's largest electric vehicle market and exporter, and planted more trees than any other country in the world.
From ambition to action
Against this backdrop, we further refined our approach and leveraged the increased capacity we had built in previous years to double down on various strategic initiatives.
Our sustainability strategy remains centred around embedding environmental and social considerations into the fabric of our business via three pillars: (1) Responsible Banking that seeks to empower our clients to being more sustainable and to promote greater access to essential financial services, (2) Responsible Business Practices that focuses on how we conduct ourselves as an organisation, and (3) Impact Beyond Banking that supports social enterprises and community causes, as well as employee volunteerism.
In our Responsible Banking pillar, we materially expanded our client engagement with large corporate customers on climate to deliver on the bold commitments we made in 2022 when we published 'Our Path to Net Zero
- Supporting Asia's Transition to a Low Carbon Economy'. Apart from offering advisory services related to our clients' net zero transition journeys, we translated this engagement into finance solutions. Our sustainable financing commitments (for loans and trade finance), net of payments,
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"We committed up to SGD 1 billion over the next 10 years to improve lives and livelihoods of the low-income and underprivileged, and foster a more inclusive society"
Piyush Gupta, CEO DBS Group Holdings
totalling SGD 665 million to micro and small businesses to support their working capital needs. Furthermore, we developed a personal finance guidance, the DBS Financial Planning Portal, to achieve holistic financial wellness across the key life stages.
In our Responsible Business Practices pillar, we established the Employee Experience Council to drive four key employee journeys, namely employee well-
Foundation also committed another SGD 5.6 million
to support 11 new programmes to build future-ready skills and food security among vulnerable segments through its Community Impact Chapter.
Recognising our role in society and pursuing our Vision
stood at around SGD 70 billion as of December, up from SGD 51 billion in the previous year. We also facilitated close to SGD 18 billion of ESG bond issuances in 2023.
We supported global efforts related to the managed and early phase out of coal in Asia. Asia has around 5,000 operational coal power plants. It will be critical to shut them down well ahead of the end of their operating lives to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This endeavour is very complex, especially given the socio-economic context in Asia and the imperative to accomplish this in a just manner. To this end, we have supported and collaborated in initiatives with research and advocacy efforts to foster an ecosystem approach. For example, we co-led work related to the public consultation and final report of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero ('GFANZ') on 'Financing the Managed Phaseout of Coal-Fired Power Plants in Asia Pacific'. Furthermore, we have acted as financial advisor to the Indonesian Investment Authority ('INA') related to such transactions. During COP28, INA and various partners signed a framework agreement and conditionally agreed to shorten the operating life of Cirebon-1, a 660 MW coal-fired power plant located on Java, by around seven years.
In addition to our focus on large corporates, we doubled down on our efforts to help SMEs in their sustainability efforts. Last year, we established several strategic partnerships with industry leaders to provide more comprehensive solutions to SMEs. One example is our new
collaboration with H&M Group, which seeks to accelerate the adoption of green initiatives across the fashion supply chain. In Hong Kong, we partnered CLP Power to support SMEs' low-carbon transition. Additionally, we signed partnerships with a number of solutions providers such as Keppel Corp, Schneider Electric and Reset Carbon, among others. Furthermore, we engaged over 1,000 SMEs through various sustainability training courses and programmes to develop their capability and capacity in the field.
Next to all these efforts on client engagement, we also further strengthened our ESG risk management capabilities. We enhanced relevant processes and our ESG data architecture, created new analytical tools, and formed a new management position, the Head of ESG Credit Risk.
In our Consumer Banking Group, we continued our efforts to provide customers with financial planning and an array of investment and financing solutions aimed at helping them to live more sustainably. For example, we enhanced and expanded our offerings on LiveBetter, our one-stop digital sustainability platform, which we had launched in 2021.
It is now available in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia. To date, more than SGD 21 million has been invested through Invest Better in green funds and ETFs, and over SGD 2 million donated through Give Better for environmental and social causes.
Financial inclusion, banking the under-banked and nurturing healthy financial planning, has always been a core focus area for us. Last year, we approved over 4,400 unsecured loans
being, workload, assimilation of new hires and rewards
- recognition. We also launched our flagship Women Leadership Programme which is specifically designed to build, support, and sustain a robust community of senior women leaders and strengthen our pipeline for senior leadership in the bank. In our procurement, we uplifted our Sustainable Sourcing Principles to encourage suppliers to adopt a socially and environmentally restorative approach in supply of products and services. Furthermore, we implemented a cloud-based data management platform to improve the end-to-end environmental data management. This will enable us to further sharpen our strategy focused on reducing the environmental footprint of our own operations. Additionally, we materially expanded our sustainability learning campus to deepen knowledge of and empower employees to support our agenda and strategic initiatives. As one example, we trained over 1,800 relationship managers and credit risk managers to empower them with necessary climate-related knowledge.
Finally, in our Impact Beyond Banking pillar, we committed up to SGD 1 billion over the next 10 years to improve lives and livelihoods of the low-incomeand underprivileged, and foster a more inclusive society. In addition, our workforce committed to over 1.5 million volunteer hours over the next decade to give back to society. In 2023, the DBS Foundation awarded SGD 3.7 million in grant funding to 24 SMEs and social enterprises across the region through its Business for Impact Chapter. The DBS
Last year, DBS marked our 55th anniversary. With roots as the Development Bank of Singapore, established with the express intent to help Singapore's industrialisation, the idea of being sustainable, being relevant to society, doing real things for real people, and therefore having a purpose, has been deeply rooted in our DNA.
While we are a different kind of bank today, we have always maintained our strong sense of purpose, and developed our Vision to be the Best Bank for a Better World. This means taking action now to create a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable future for generations to come.
The path ahead is formidable and there is still much to be done. I am grateful for the hard work and perseverance of DBS employees, as well as our clients and partners, on this journey. I am confident that our collective efforts and dedication will allow us to accelerate action at scale and speed, to support a future in Asia which is greener, and just.
Piyush Gupta
CEO
DBS Group Holdings
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Highlights
Summary of performance against our climate targets
Emission reduction targets | |
On track | Power |
On track | |
Automotive | |
On track | |
Real Estate | |
On track | |
Oil & Gas | |
On track | |
Aviation | |
Almost on track | Steel |
Not on track | Shipping |
01
Responsible
Banking
Committed
SGD 70 billion
in sustainable financing, net of repayments and facilitated SGD 18 billion in ESG bond issuances as an active bookrunner
02
Responsible
Business Practices
Established
Employee Experience Council
to drive better employee journeys in DBS
03
Impact Beyond
Banking
Committed up to
SGD 1 billion
over 10 years to improve lives and livelihoods of the low-income and underprivileged
Data coverage targets | |
On track | Food & Agribusiness |
On track | |
Chemicals |
Established
Powerful ecosystem partnerships
with H&M Group and CLP Power, among others,
to better service our customers' sustainability needs
Launched
Women Leadership Programme
to build, support, and sustain our community of senior women leaders
Awarded
SGD 3.7 million
in grant funding through DBS Foundation Business for Impact Grant Award
Committed
SGD 5.6 million
to programmes on future- ready skills and food security for vulnerable segments
The summary of performance against our climate targets tracks the annual variance against the science-informed decarbonisation pathways we have chosen to guide us towards our interim 2030 targets and net zero 2050 targets for each of our priority sectors. We have observed good progress in five out of seven sectors, and they track well against the relevant science-informed decarbonisation pathways. However, we recognise that in very hard-to-abate sectors, such as Steel (almost on track) and Shipping (not on track), there are dependencies and structural challenges that require long-term changes. Addressing these will often need broader ecosystem partnerships across the public and private sectors. We remain committed to working with our clients and fostering partnerships to enable an economy- wide transition to net zero that is orderly and just.
Read more about our sustainability achievements and initiatives in the following chapters of our Sustainability Report.
Approved
> 4,400 unsecured loans
in Singapore, totalling SGD 665 million, as part of our wider regional support for the working capital needs of micro and small businesses in Asia
Facilitated
> SGD 21 million
investments in green funds and ETFs through LiveBetter platform since November 2021
Enhanced
Sustainability Learning Campus
to further build bank-wide sustainability capabilities
Achieved
Green Mark Platinum for > 80%
of manned retail branches in Singapore
Delivered
> 200,000 employee volunteering hours
reaching >150,000 beneficiaries
Subsidised
4.67 million meals
through DBS PayLah! weekly hawker meal initiative
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Approach
Our sustainability strategy
Guided by our vision to be the "Best Bank for a Better World", DBS seeks to create long-term value for stakeholders in
a sustainable way. We do this by using our resources to build competitive advantages that unlock new business opportunities for sustainable value creation.
Our Vison
Best Bank for a Better World
Environmental and social factors are woven into the fabric of our business across three pillars
to create sustainable outcomes for our stakeholders.
CONTENTS
01Responsible Banking
We are supporting our clients to be more sustainable and transition towards lower-carbon business models, integrating sustainability into financing solutions and investment opportunities, and democratising banking services to meet our customers' specific needs.
02 Responsible
Business
Practices
We believe in doing the right thing by our people and embedding environmental and societal factors in our business operations.
03 Impact
Beyond
Banking
We seek to be a force for good by championing businesses for impact and uplifting vulnerable communities to catalyse positive environmental and social impact.
Supporting sustainable development
As a member of the United Nations Global Compact, we have a role to play in promoting sustainable development. We are committed to drive progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). All 17 interrelated goals represent an ambitious sustainability agenda by 2030.
We see sustainability as an active value driver that offers new opportunities, builds resilience against ESG risks and strengthens trust with our stakeholders. Across the three pillars of our sustainability strategy, we have set metrics and targets, and developed initiatives to drive sustainable outcomes. We report on our approach and performance against our material ESG factors in the following chapters of this report.
We have chosen to focus on the following six SDGs which we believe we can make the most meaningful contributions to, taking into account the markets in which we operate.
Read more about how we are contributing to the SDGs in the chapters that follow.
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Governance of sustainability
Effective governance and board oversight is crucial to ensure resilience and drive long-term value creation. At DBS, the Board is collectively responsible for the long-term success of the bank and has ultimate responsibility of our sustainability strategy and reporting. It provides constructive challenge and strategic advice to management.
Board and Board Committees
In 2022, the Board established our Board Sustainability Committee (BSC) to provide greater governance and oversight on our sustainability agenda, including our net zero commitment, which is a strategic priority for the bank.
The BSC is chaired by DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta. Its members come from different business backgrounds and bring together complimentary skills and experience. The BSC members who are also DBS Board members, include Chng Kai Fong, Judy Lee, Tham Sai Choy and David Ho, who was newly appointed to the bank's Board of Directors in April 2023. In addition to DBS Board members, the BSC also comprises of a non-director member and sustainability expert, Dr. Ben Caldecott, the founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group at the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.
Read more about the profiles of our Board of Directors in our Annual Report.
In 2023, the BSC met quarterly and discussed several topics related to sustainability, including, but not limited to:
• Global themes relevant to DBS and our sustainability strategy. • Sustainability-related developments within DBS.
• Climate risk considerations including physical and transition risks, and enhancements to our ESG risk assessments.
• Client engagement on transition planning, as well as green and sustainable financing solutions.
• DBS' approach to disclosures, including adherence to new sustainability-andclimate-related reporting standards and frameworks.
The Board receives regular updates on key sustainability matters arising from these quarterly BSC meetings.
At DBS, we take an integrated approach to governance of sustainability and climate-related risks and opportunities. The Audit Committee (AC) and the Board Risk Management Committee (BRMC) also have oversight responsibilities for sustainability-related activities. In 2023, the AC received regular updates on sustainability-related disclosure requirements, while the BRMC discussed and reviewed climate considerations as part of the wider risk management processes.
Board statement on sustainability
"The Board has overall responsibility for the formulation of DBS' sustainability strategy. The Board provides oversight on DBS' sustainability agenda and directs its efforts in managing material ESG factors, guided by the objective to create long-term value by managing our business in a balanced and responsible way. In 2023, the Board Sustainability Committee (BSC) oversaw the update of our material ESG factors, as well as the continued progress to weave social and environmental factors into the fabric of our business, with a greater focus on climate-related matters."
DBS Group Board of Directors
Sustainability governance structure
Board of Directors
Board | Board | Audit | Board Risk |
Sustainability Committee | Committee | Management Committee | |
(oversees progress against our sustainability | (oversees disclosure matters) | (oversees climate-related | |
strategy and climate commitment) | risk management) |
Group Sustainability Council | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(chaired by the Group Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Council members represented by senior management across: | Project Net Zero | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Sponsored by the Group Head of Institutional Banking, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group CRO and Group CSO) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Institutional | Consumer | Treasury | Risk | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Banking | Banking | Markets | Management | The Project Net Zero steering committee oversees: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Management | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net zero | ESG risk | Climate data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group | strategy | assessment policies | and technology | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology & | Human | Group | and processes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Strategic Market- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operations | Resource | ing Comms./ DBS | Planning | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Foundation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standing invitation extended to senior representatives across: | Financed emission | Climate scenario | Climate-related | |||||||||||||||||||||||
assessment | analysis model | training | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
approach | development | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legal & Compliance | Internal Audit | Strategic Planning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Local Sustainability Councils
(China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and Indonesia)
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Executive management
At the management level, the Group Sustainability Council (GSC) oversees the execution of sustainability initiatives across the bank. The GSC is chaired by the Group CSO and comprises of senior managers from various business and support units. In 2023, the GSC met quarterly.
Given the increasing regulatory and legal relevance of ESG matters, Internal Audit and Legal & Compliance attend GSC meetings as observers. This supports a more comprehensive approach to risk management and regulatory compliance, and deeper ethical considerations as we navigate a dynamic and complex sustainability landscape.
The GSC - through the Chief Sustainability Office - coordinates and collaborates sustainability efforts with the five Local Sustainability Councils (LSCs) established in our core markets outside of Singapore (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and Indonesia). In addition to the GSC, the LSCs serve as executive forums for discussions and operational decision-making on sustainability matters.
In 2023, we established a cross-functional steering committee called Project Net Zero, which drives the operationalisation of our climate agenda across our net zero commitment, risk management and reporting. Sponsored by the Group Head of Institutional Banking, Group CRO and Group CSO, the steering committee is responsible for the implementation of multiple workstreams that involve different business and support units across the bank. The Project Net Zero Steering Committee provides quarterly updates to the BSC as one of the key standing agenda items.
At the start of 2023, the bank established a new ESG Credit Risk team under Risk Management Group along with a new management position - Head of ESG Credit Risk - to provide leadership and expertise to further strengthen our Climate and ESG risk management capabilities.
Embedding sustainability into performance management and remuneration
We use a balanced scorecard approach to measure how successful we are in serving our key stakeholders and executing our long-term strategy. Sustainability and climate-related targets are incorporated into our Group Scorecard and cascaded across the relevant units' scorecards, which are used to evaluate performance. Progress made against these targets is then used to determine the compensation for both our management and relevant executing teams, which in turn drives the overall management of sustainability performance across the bank.
Management targets cover key sustainability and climate- related themes such as:
• Governance, processes and reporting systems
• Climate progress under Project Net Zero
• Sustainable, green and social products, solutions and services
• Financial inclusion, financial literacy and digital inclusion • Regenerative technology and spaces
• Talent and people, including talent retention, diversity & inclusion and employee engagement
• Impact beyond banking through DBS Foundation
To further strengthen the governance of sustainability at DBS, in 2023 we conducted a holistic review of our sustainability governance processes. As a result, we have refined our approach including:
• Establishingan Environmental and Social Incident Management Guide to ensure timely and appropriate response to any reports of environmental and social incidents.
• Establishing a Consumer Banking Governance Guide for Sustainability Labelled Products and Services to ensure that a robust governance framework and internal
controls are in place for products and services, to which a sustainability label is attached.
• Uplifting our Sustainable Sourcing Principles (SSP)
to further promote the principles of restorative procurement amongst our suppliers.
Read more about "Our 2023 priorities", "Corporate governance" and "Remuneration report" in the Annual Report.
Elevating sustainability knowledge and skills
Sustainability is a dynamic field and the sustainability context within which we operate is constantly evolving. The Board receives regular briefings on sustainability matters, including from external sustainability experts. In addition, we ensure that our Board and Board committees stay informed about key developments and possess the knowledge and skills to advise on a wide spectrum of sustainability and climate- related risks and opportunities. Training on ESG matters is provided for all new Board members.
To further embed sustainability into every aspect of our business and build the capacity of our people, in 2023
we identified three key sustainability learning priorities and enhanced the DBS Sustainability Learning Campus, considering different target audiences within the bank.
For senior leaders
To further our senior management understanding of the business imperatives arising from sustainability risks and opportunities, and support the integration of ESG risks and opportunities into strategic decision making, we collaborated with Cambridge University's Institute for Sustainability Leadership to conduct a full day senior leadership workshop. The interactive workshop included cases on sustainability best practices and challenging dilemmas, with an emphasis on solving real world problems.
For all staff
To create greater understanding of the relevance of sustainability for the bank across all employees, a suite of sustainability-related training modules was launched in April 2023. The modules cover a variety of sustainability concepts, as well as communicating DBS' sustainability commitments and progress, and how everyone can participate in this journey.
Read more about our bank-wide learning programme in "Developing our people" on page 49.
For role-based specialised functions
To enable a more structured learning journey based on domain expertise, we have also customised several learning modules for specific departments within the banks. For example, to operationalise our net zero commitments and build competencies on climate-related risks and opportunities, we conducted climate activation training for our Relationship managers (RMs) and Credit Risk Managers (CRMs).
Read more about our specialised training in "Responsible financing" on page 16.
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CEO Message | Highlights |
Stakeholder engagement
We have ongoing dialogue and closely collaborate with our key stakeholders, which helps us to continuously refine our business strategy and strengthens our ability to create long-term value.
We define our key stakeholders as those who are most impacted by our business activities, as well as those with the greatest ability to influence them. They include our investors, customers, employees, society, as well as regulators and policy makers. We proactively engage with these key stakeholders through a variety of channels to both understand and respond to their concerns and interests.
The outcomes of the stakeholder engagement inform our understanding of the ESG factors that are material to our business, which helps to define our strategic priorities and guide the development and implementation of our initiatives.
Approach | Pillar 1 Responsible Banking | Pillar 2 Responsible Business Practices | Pillar 3 Impact Beyond Banking | Additional Disclosures | CONTENTS |
Investors | Customers | Employees | Society | Regulators and policy makers | |||||||||||||||||||
We provide timely and detailed disclosures to | We interact with customers to better understand | We communicate with our employees via multi- | We engage the community to better understand | We strive to be a good corporate citizen and | |||||||||||||||||||
enable investors to make informed investment | their requirements so that we can provide the | ple channels to ensure that our employees feel | the role we can play to address societal needs | advocate by providing input to and supporting | |||||||||||||||||||
decisions with DBS. We also seek their perspec- | right financial solutions for them. | purposeful, feel connected, feel invested in, feel | and gaps. | the implementation of relevant local and global | |||||||||||||||||||
tives on our financial performance and strategy, | valued and feel cared for. | laws, regulations, guidelines, and public policies. | |||||||||||||||||||||
including sustainability matters. | Additionally, we seek to be a strong representative | ||||||||||||||||||||||
voice for Asia and Asian financial services at local | |||||||||||||||||||||||
and global industry forums. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• | Quarterly result briefings. | • | Multiple | service channels, including digital | • "Tell | Piyush" - an online forum where | • Regular | events and conversations with | • Regular | engagement sessions with | |||||||||||||
• Investor | Day 2023, which drew physical | • | banking, call centres and branches. | over 550 employee questions and | Businesses for Impact, community | regulators, government bodies and | |||||||||||||||||
participation from 45 firms and was well- | Regular | engagements via relationship | feedback items were conveyed to the | partners and social service agencies to | public agencies in one-on-one or group | ||||||||||||||||||
received by analysts and fund managers | managers and subject matter specialists, | CEO. | understand the social landscape and how | meetings. | |||||||||||||||||||
who attended in person. | where appropriate. | • "DBS | Open" - quarterly group-wide | DBS can partner to create impact. | • Sharing | insights and expertise with, | |||||||||||||||||
• One -on-one and group meetings | • | Active | interaction and prompt follow-up | townhall hosted by the CEO. | • Connection | with government bodies and | and providing feedback to, regulators, | ||||||||||||||||
engage? | with over 550 investors, conducted | to queries/ feedback received via social | • Regular | department townhalls and events | associations, including Singapore Centre | government bodies, and public agencies | |||||||||||||||||
conferences. | LinkedIn, and Twitter, as well as our | • Annual | "My Voice" Employee Engagement | Chest. | participating in regulator or government- | ||||||||||||||||||
either online or in-person, including | media platforms such as Facebook, | held by senior management. | for Social Enterprise and Community | as an industry leader, including actively | |||||||||||||||||||
we | • | corporate websites. | survey and quarterly Employee | • Strong | partnerships with academia to | led working groups, committees or | |||||||||||||||||
did | Regular | satisfaction surveys. | Experience surveys. | jointly tackle real-world sustainability | forums. | ||||||||||||||||||
• | Participation | in conferences, | • Employee | Experience Council - drive | challenges. | • Actively | participating in local, regional, | ||||||||||||||||
How | |||||||||||||||||||||||
masterclasses, and events bringing | iconic employee journeys to enhance | • Community | engagement within the public | and international industry forums on | |||||||||||||||||||
together partners and industry leaders | employee experience. | housing estates (heartlands) and our | financial regulation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
for networking and knowledge sharing. | • Culture | Builders - more than 1200 | neighbours through POSB. | • Actively | responding to, or providing | ||||||||||||||||||
employees engage fellow employees to | feedback on Consultation Papers, draft | ||||||||||||||||||||||
gather feedback. | regulations or guidelines, or policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
statements or papers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• Impact | on business outlook and | • | Retail | customers are seeking greater | • Questions | and feedback raised via | • A growing number of SMEs and social | • Ensure | business resilience and continue | ||||||||||||||
credit quality from peaking interest | stability and security, alongside growing | "Tell Piyush" covered topics such as | enterprises (SEs) are open to adopt more | providing innovative financial services to | |||||||||||||||||||
received? | rates, geopolitical uncertainty, slowing | demand for digital services. They also prefer | corporate strategy, culture, technology | sustainable business models, but are | maintain stability of the financial system. | ||||||||||||||||||
economic growth and pressures from | greater product variety and features to | and workplace management, employee | often held back by operational matters | • Key regulatory and reporting topics being | |||||||||||||||||||
China's real estate sector. | enable seamless user experiences. | compensation, benefits and welfare as | and may lack the bandwidth or resources | discussed and introduced in the banking | |||||||||||||||||||
• Prospect | for higher dividends given high | • | Many | retail customers are also expecting | well as customer experience. | to kickstart their transition journey. | industry include: | ||||||||||||||||
feedback | Common Equity Tier 1 (CET 1) level and | stronger customer protection amid the | • Through | the annual employee | They seek catalytic capital and strong | • | Technology and cyber security | ||||||||||||||||
Return on Equity. | fast-evolving scam and fraud tactics, to | engagement survey and quarterly | partners to enable them to scale up their | • Money laundering and terrorism financing | |||||||||||||||||||
• Environmental, | social and governance | prevent scammers from fraudulently | employee experience survey, the key | businesses and deepen their positive | • | Artificial intelligence applications | |||||||||||||||||
and | (ESG) commitments and our progress | logging into their banking accounts. | areas of concern raised by employees are | social and environment impact. | • | Climate change | |||||||||||||||||
towards targets. Specifically, climate | • | Many | small and medium enterprise (SME) | around wellbeing (work-related stress), | • An uneven post-pandemic economic | • New | regulatory and legal requirements, | ||||||||||||||||
raised | |||||||||||||||||||||||
technology resilience, and other | capital requirements to support them as | and rewards and recognition. | have exacerbated the plight of the | standards in new growth areas such as | |||||||||||||||||||
change, corporate governance, | customers continue to have working | recovery and stubbornly high inflation | as well as new global or market | ||||||||||||||||||||
topics | social issues such as human capital | they pivot in a post pandemic, escalating | financially vulnerable with some | fintech/ tech platforms, carbon markets, | |||||||||||||||||||
management and rising inequality are | • | inflation environment. | segments of society facing acute | sustainable financing, green taxonomies, | |||||||||||||||||||
key | highlighted as priorities to manage. | There | is growing interest amongst | challenges in making ends meet. | and climate and nature-related reporting | ||||||||||||||||||
corporate and SME customers to | and disclosures. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
the | |||||||||||||||||||||||
embrace sustainability as part of their | |||||||||||||||||||||||
are | |||||||||||||||||||||||
business strategy. Many are seeking | |||||||||||||||||||||||
What | to strengthen internal capabilities, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
collaboration and new partnership | |||||||||||||||||||||||
establishments to enhance their | |||||||||||||||||||||||
sustainability and decarbonisation efforts. |
From Ambition to Action DBS Group Holdings Ltd Sustainability Report 2023 | 10 |
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DBS Group Holdings Ltd. published this content on 05 March 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 06 March 2024 02:04:06 UTC.