KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB) will accelerate its ambition to be an Asean sustainability leader by mobilising RM30 billion towards sustainable finance by 2024.
CIMB said the target included wholesale and commercial financing, bonds and intermediation, wealth products and products that enable financial inclusion such as affordable home financing and other products catered to the B40 group.
The bank said it had made good progress and was ahead of schedule in meeting its original target with over RM10 billion in offerings under its green, social, sustainable impact products and services (GSSIPS) framework already achieved so far this year.
In addition to the sustainable finance commitment, the group also announced its commitments towards mitigating climate change.
The targets include net zero operational greenhouse gas (GHG) scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and net zero overall GHG emissions by 2050, together with a No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation commitment.
CIMB has also committed to investing RM150 million over five years and 100,000 in employee volunteerism hours annually by 2024 to positively impact lives, communities and businesses across Asean.
This sustainable finance target along with other strengthened sustainability commitments were announced at CIMB's Sustainability Investor Day.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said CIMB was committed to playing its part to accelerate the sustainability agenda through the commitments announced today.
"Today, sustainability is already core and integrated into our business, and we actively engage clients and all stakeholders to promote financial services that are aligned to sustainability principles," said Abdul Rahman.
To provide greater oversight and accountability in delivering on these commitments, CIMB's board of directors has established a group sustainability and governance committee, chaired by senior independent directorTeoh Su Yin.
Under its Forward23+ Strategic Plan, CIMB has set a target to be in the top quartile of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) by 2024.
"The DJSI tracks the performance of the world's leading companies in terms of their sustainability practices, and to date CIMB has improved its position from the 19th percentile in 2018 to 65th percentile in 2020," it said.
CIMB's Sustainability Investor Day was the kickstart to a week of sustainability initiatives by the group, with its 3rd Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit from September 23 to September 27.
The summit continues to focus on the Asean region and aims to convene global experts, leaders, financiers, investors and policymakers in order to encourage greater discourse in sustainability and shape a more sustainable tomorrow.
This year's summit will be opened by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.