for other companies. Under the 12th Five-year Plan on the
Development of National Environmental Protection Standards,
Hong Kong enterprises should adjust their strategies and comply
with national requirements. By doing so, they can not only enhance
their competitiveness but also sharpen their edge in the domestic
market.”
Mr Rico Wong Deputy Chief Executive of The Conservancy Association
Tako Choi Financial Control Division
and Bank volunteer
Mr Stanley Lau New steps in our work with the southern China business community on environmental issues include expanding the coverage of our environmental awards to cover the pan Pearl River Delta region. Organised jointly with the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hang Seng Pan Pearl River Delta Environmental Awards (Awards) aim to serve as a catalyst for positive environmental change among manufacturing companies in this economically vibrant region by recognising and rewarding environmentally responsible behaviour.
With a 20% increase in the number of applications compared with the previous Awards year, over 720 projects were submitted to the 2012/13 Awards by 225 participants. Collective achievements included cutting consumption of electricity by over 126 million kilowatt hours and water usage by more than 4.2 million tonnes.
Our e-Statement and e-InvestAdvice services offer e-Banking customers the option to receive account statements and other notices in electronic rather than paper format. At the end of 2013, the number of
e-Statement subscribers was more than 1.26 million and over 92,000 customers were using e-InvestAdvice – collectively saving more than 42 million sheets of paper a year. In addition, more than 25% of our personal credit card customers now receive e-Statements in preference to paper copies. Other resource-saving initiatives include providing online channels for personal loan and credit card applications.
Our Green Banking Integrated Account is designed to promote greater environmental awareness among full-time students at local universities and tertiary institutions and encourage them to support improved environmental protection by using fewer resources.
We also reach out to the wider community through actions such as our sponsorship of the Friends of the Earth (HK) ‘Power Smart’ Energy Saving Contest and holding the Hang Seng Green Carnival in partnership with The Conservancy Association.
To support the conservation of biodiversity, we stopped serving shark’s fin at Bank functions in 2003 and have since removed endangered reef fish from our menus. We also provide a WWF (Hong Kong) endorsed sustainable seafood menu at our banquet hall.
Since 1999, we have planted around 93,000 trees - including 23,000 in 2013 - in Hong Kong and on the Mainland. We are making steady progress in cutting our emissions (see table: Environmental Performance) and continue to take steps to stay abreast of environment-related regulatory developments that could directly or indirectly impact our business.
Environmental Performance Unit 2013^ 2012#
Carbon Dioxide Emissions*
Total CO2 emissions tonnes 24,634.95 24,616.59
- Energy tonnes 24,307.27 24,342.27
- Business Travel tonnes 327.68 274.32
Total CO2 emissions per FTE tonnes/FTE 3.11 3.23
- CO2 emissions per FTE from energy tonnes/FTE 3.07 3.19
- CO2 emissions per FTE from business travel tonnes/FTE 0.04 0.04
CO2 emissions per sq ft tonnes/sq ft 0.02 0.02
Resources Consumption
Total energy consumption Gj 128,498.30 133,009.19
- Electricity Gj 126,986.40 131,804.29
- Other fuel sources (gas and diesel) Gj 1,511.90 1,204.89
Energy consumption per FTE Gj/FTE 16.24 17.43
Energy consumption per sq ft Gj/sq ft 0.09 0.09
Total water consumption 000m3 64.81 65.90
Water consumption per FTE m3/ FTE 8.19 8.64
Environmental Performance Unit 2013^ 2012# Waste Disposed to Landfill
Total Waste Disposed to landfill tonnes 287.36 279.11
- General Office Waste tonnes 287.36 279.04
- IT and electrical tonnes 0.00 0.07
Waste disposed per FTE tonnes/ FTE 0.04 0.04
Waste Collected for Recycling
Total waste collected for recycling tonnes 820.76 777.23
- General office tonnes 761.92 722.28
- IT and electrical tonnes 58.84 54.94
Data coverage: Hang Seng Bank’s Hong Kong operations. Data is rounded up to 2 decimal places. Key:
m3: Cubic metres CO2:Carbon dioxide Gj: Gigajoules FTE: Full-time equivalent employee sq ft: Square foot # From 1 Oct 2011 - 30 Sep 2012
^ From 1 Oct 2012 - 30 Sep 2013
* Data is calculated and verified through HSBC Group. + Paper
- Compliant Paper: Paper certified by an HSBC Approved Certification Scheme. Currently includes FSC, Canadian Standards Association etc.
- Near-compliant Paper: Paper that contains virgin pulp whose source country is known and not on the high risk country list; and/or completely recycled paper, but not certified by an HSBC approved scheme.
- Non-compliant Paper: Source country of the virgin portion is unknown or on the high risk country list, and is not certified by any HSBC approved scheme.
Community
As the leading domestic bank in Hong Kong and a good corporate citizen, our commitment to serve our community extends beyond the provision of quality banking and financial services. We seek to have a positive impact on our communities and participate in a wide range of programmes and activities to promote social development, personal empowerment and long-term economic growth.
In particular, our strong emphasis on youth development programmes is helping future leaders develop the skills and vision necessary to ensure our communities continue to flourish.
We believe in facilitating wider access to educational and social enrichment opportunities and in promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. We also seek to inspire and empower underprivileged groups and break down barriers to social integration.
We establish long-term partnerships with leading local non-governmental organisations and other institutions that are working to improve well-being and build a bright tomorrow.
Since 2004, we have provided about HK$240m in financial support – including HK$27m in 2013 – for community development initiatives. In line with our belief that building strong human connections underpins lasting positive change, our staff also give their time to serve worthy causes.
Bank volunteers and their families contributed nearly 27,000 hours during 2013. We facilitated this giving back to society by organising over 150 volunteer activities, with a particular focus on underprivileged children, elderly people living alone and environmental education.
Our partnership with The Community Chest of Hong Kong – which stretches back more than 25 years – has raised over HK$65m for 157 local charities. We have participated in The Chest’s Dress Casual Day since 1997, matching staff donations on a dollar-for- dollar basis – resulting in more than HK$18m in support.
Our e-Donation service makes it easier for customers to offer assistance to those in need. In 2013, the service facilitated the giving of about HK$2.4m – collectively benefiting over 60 charitable organisations in Hong Kong. Since 2001, more than HK$25m has been donated via this convenient and secure online channel.