Sustainability Highlights

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 pragmatic and progressive through managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities sensibly 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 – Honourable, Enterprising, United, Committed

Risk strategy

Climate change is one of the most complex and defining issues of our time. As a leading financial institution in the region, we are committed to strengthening our portfolio resilience and to being a positive force in the fight against climate change.

Climate risks are complex and transverse in nature, and may potentially translate into known financial risk types for banks including credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk and operational risk. We have assessed the various climate risk transmission channels using either a qualitative or quantitative approach, and considered potential credit risk impact to be the most material.

We conduct climate scenario analysis, holistically assessing the impact of both transition and physical risks on our borrowers’ financial performance while taking into consideration the differentiated responses and drivers for different sectors.

In 2023, no material climate-related financial losses were incurred, either through our corporate lending activities or damage to the Bank’s assets and associated business disruptions. Minor physical damages were adequately insured.

Our commitment to net zero

UOB aspires to be a leading sustainable bank in Southeast Asia and is committed to net zero by 2050. We recognise the substantial impact that financial institutions can have in catalysing and facilitating decarbonisation, and seek to balance growth with responsibility through supporting a just transition. Our efforts go beyond the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping to ensure that the lives and livelihoods of individuals and communities can continue to improve.

We used 2021 data as our baseline when assessing our financed emissions intensity across our priority sectors and setting our targets. Our first progress report, published in October 2023, illustrated our first year’s journey with 2022 emissions intensities declining across all five sectors for which we have set net zero targets. We remained, at a range of seven to 14 per cent, below the target reference pathways.

Overview of emissions intensity by sector

We have developed a holistic operationalisation programme focusing on four key areas:

Developing granular sectoral plans;
Supporting our customers;
Embedding net zero in our operating model; and
Driving effective stakeholder engagement.

As part of our 2023 business strategy refresh, we have also identified and integrated commercialisation opportunities which will help drive the decarbonisation of our target sectors.

We will continue to deepen our understanding of our clients’ decarbonisation journeys, enhance our sustainable finance products including sector-specific solutions that serve end-to-end needs, and reinforce our ability to catalyse the transformation of ecosystems through advisory and solutions beyond banking.

For more information on UOB’s sustainability strategy and initiatives, please refer to the UOB Sustainability Report 2023.