Sustainability Highlights

2022 snapshot

Drive Growth Sustainably

Net zero by 2050

commitment made
for six sectors

$25 billion

in total sustainable financing to corporates

UOB Transition Finance Framework

established to support companies in decarbonisation

UOB Sustainability Compass

rolled out to help SMEs kickstart their
sustainability journey

$10 billion

in total assets under management in
ESG-focused investments

Keep Customers at the Centre

91%

of customer complaints resolved within established standards

Zero

material issues in relation to data confidentiality and privacy

75%

digitally-enabled individual customers with monthly active rate of 38%

UOB SME app

launched for SMEs to transact and gain personalised insights on an interactive dashboard

The Greentech Accelerator

launched to connect SMEs and corporates to green innovations

Develop Professionals of Principle*

37%

of our senior management are women

94%

of our colleagues
hired locally

$26 million

invested in employee training and development

790,000
square feet

of total office space transformed into high-performance workplaces

SG Clean certification

achieved for all our buildings and branches in Singapore

Uphold Corporate Responsibility

Best Risk Management – Gold

received at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2022

Zero

cases of significant
non-compliance in relation to bribery, corruption or fraud

Zero

material information security incidents

Carbon neutrality

maintained for our operational footprint

$9 million

in monetary and in-kind contributions raised for the community

* Excludes employees from Citigroup in Malaysia and Thailand, where relevant

Our sustainability strategy

At UOB, our sustainability strategy is underpinned by our corporate purpose and mirrors our business approach of balancing growth with responsibility. Our strategy takes into account the influence and impact our decisions and actions may have on our stakeholders and the environment. It also ensures that we remain economically relevant through managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities practically and in line with market realities.

Promote United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with our stakeholders

Drive Growth
Sustainably

Contribute economically to the progress of our communities
Embed environmental, social and governance risk in our approach to risk management
Integrate social and environmental considerations into our credit evaluation and approval processes
Adopt and promote climate-resilient practices to support our customers in their transition to a low carbon economy
Develop and provide sustainable financing and sustainable investment solutions

Keep Customers
at the Centre

Protect customer data and privacy through secure and robust systems and practices
Ensure Fair Dealing
Create intuitive and impactful customer experiences
Make banking simpler, smarter and safer through ethical use of technology and data
Make banking more accessible and inclusive
Support businesses across all stages of growth

Develop Professionals
of Principle

Develop high-performing teams and future-focused individuals
Promote work-life harmony
Encourage volunteerism and advocacy for social and environmental causes
Ensure employee engagement and satisfaction
Ensure workplace health, safety and well-being
Embrace diverse abilities and strengths

Uphold Corporate
Responsibility

Maintain highest standards of governance and risk culture
Ensure regulatory compliance
Protect the financial system against abuse
Incorporate sustainability principles into our procurement practices
Manage direct environmental impact and encourage environmental stewardship
Champion social development in art, children and education

Rooted in our values of Honour, Enterprise, Unity and Commitment

Our material ESG factors

UOB’s most significant impacts on the economy, environment and society are reflected in our material ESG factors. We conduct materiality assessments and stakeholder consultations on a continual basis to ensure that these material factors are in context of our operating environment, business and operations, as well as regulatory and stakeholder expectations.
‍
In 2022, we embarked on a materiality assessment exercise with our key stakeholder groups, both internal and external, to gather their feedback on the ESG factors most important to UOB and that have the greatest impact on them. We adopted an integrated approach of analysing both quantitative and qualitative research to gain a holistic overview of stakeholder expectations. Through surveys and one-on-one interviews, we prioritised factors that are critical to the continued success of our business and sustainable development of the wider community. Increasingly interconnected, our material ESG factors inform our strategic decision making and guide us in our practices, stakeholder engagement and reporting.

Materiality matrix

Our commitment to net zero

Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, is one of the areas most vulnerable to climate change. As a leading financial institution operating in this region, UOB is steadfast in being a positive force in the fight against climate change. Our commitment to net zero by 2050 is grounded in the need for a just transition that continues to support socioeconomic growth and improve energy access across the diverse economies in the region, in tandem with decarbonisation.

Energy

Power
Reduce emissions intensity by 61% by 2030 and 98% by 2050

Automotive
Reduce emissions intensity by 58% by 2030 and net zero by 2050

Oil and gas
No new project financing for upstream oil and gas projects approved for development after 2022

Built Environment

Real Estate
Reduce emissions intensity by 36% by 2030 and 97% by 2050

Construction
Reduce emissions intensity by 31% by 2030 and 85% by 2050

Steel
Reduce emissions intensity by 20% by 2030 and 92% by 2050

As a start, we have covered two key carbon-emitting ecosystems, namely energy and the built environment. These span six focus sectors that are material contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regionally and account for about 60 per cent of UOB’s corporate lending portfolio.
‍
The six sectors are among the most important for decarbonisation. In particular, oil, gas and coal, which are the supply of fossil fuels, are responsible for 73 per cent of direct emissions globally. The power, automotive, real estate and steel sectors, through downstream usage of electricity, passenger cars, iron, steel and buildings, account for 67 per cent of emissions arising from fossil fuel combustion. Our targets in these sectors reflect our ambition to facilitate this change end to end.

Our principles for prioritising sectors

Emissions materiality

Focus on ‘brown’ sectors with highest GHG emissions and criticality for achieving climate goals

Sector abatement horizon

Focus on sectors with largest expected decline in GHG emissions in coming years

Portfolio materiality

Cover sectors representing a significant portion of UOB’s corporate loan book, where we have the greatest potential to effect change

We are guided by the science in setting our net zero targets and have based our targets on internationally-recognised climate models. In consideration of structural differences across the region, we have extracted regional pathways for some targets that represent fair contributions of our key markets.
‍
Our approach is in line with the guidance from the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) on how financial institutions should set targets and use sectoral pathways in alignment with the Paris Agreement and the 1.5°C global warming trajectory outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
‍
As a commercial bank, we see our role as a catalyst and enabler to influence the real economy towards net zero. We are embedding our net zero targets in our business strategies and operations as we actively engage our clients across the region, to support them on setting their net zero plans or on making their existing net zero plans more ambitious, as well as through transition financing. We will also direct more financing towards green projects and activities, and away from those that emit the most carbon.
‍
We seek to expand the scope of our targets to include new sectors and sub-sectors as data and climate scenarios become available.

For more information on UOB’s sustainability strategy and initiatives, please refer to the UOB Sustainability Report 2022.