SBM Holdings Ltd affirms its commitment to sustainable practices through its entry to SEM Sustainability Index (SEMSI)

SBM Holdings Ltd marks another milestone through its entry on the SEM Sustainability Index (SEMSI) on the 16 January 2019.

Launched in 2015, SEMSI is an indicator of a company’s commitment to sustainability practices.  It measures the robustness of listed companies against a set of internationally and locally relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.

The Chairman of SBM Holdings Ltd, Mr. Kee Chong LI KWONG WING, declared: “SBM Holdings Ltd has embarked on a new journey following its successful internationalization strategy over the last two years.  Our admission to the SEMSI is a clear indication that SBM has been delivering on its priorities while adopting and aligning to local and international standards in terms of sustainability pillars, namely economic, environmental, social and governance”. He added that “our introduction to the SEMSI is recognition for our commitment towards society through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives which we believe is important for community development and also for our efforts to improve and promote environmentally responsible business activities as well as products and services. Our strategy reflects our engagement towards creating a sustainable future; this is why SBM is now moving towards digital platforms, while decreasing the use of natural resources and inculcating a new culture of sustainability to our staff members.”

It is worth highlighting that SBM has an Environmental and Social Risk Policy that details how the Group is committed to a path of environmental sustainability and how it aims to promote environmentally responsible business activities, and offer environmentally responsible products and services.  The Group Chairman added that “through our efforts to Go-Green, we have, for instance, reduced our electricity consumption by 17.4% in 2018 mainly by implementing key projects like replacing our lifts and chillers by technology-driven and energy-efficient ones.”

SBM also has a comprehensive CSR strategy which revolves around supporting high impact sustainable projects, targeted at needy and vulnerable groups, with a focus on education and empowerment. The program aims at providing tools, promoting employability and combatting social ills with a view to alleviating poverty.

As a part of the SEMSI, SBM will reinforce its commitment to the welfare of society while promoting the preservation of the environment.

The Group Chairman of SBM further added ‘Our acquisition in Kenya and the conversion of SBM branches in India into a full-fledged universal bank have proved that we remain a strong local and regional financial institution. We are conscious that there is still a lot for us to achieve on the sustainability front and we will continue to work hard in the interests of all our stakeholders.’

SBM Group is a financial services group present in Mauritius, Kenya, India and Madagascar, providing universal banking services to a growing base of retail, SME, corporate and high net-worth clients.

Posted by Minority Voice on Jan 16 2019. Filed under Economie, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry