CIMB Group Holdings Bhd today became one of the Founding Signatories of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative UNEP-FI Principles for Responsible Banking.

According to one of the largest banking group in Asean, the initiative demonstrated CIMB’s strong commitment to strategically align its business with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

“As a founding member of the UNEP-FI Principles for Responsible Banking, we are convinced that only in an inclusive society, founded on human dignity, equality and the sustainable use of natural resources, can our employees, customers and other stakeholders thrive,” CIMB group chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz said in a statement.

“By signing the Principles, we commit to using our products, services and relationships to support and accelerate the fundamental changes in our economies and lifestyles necessary to achieve shared prosperity for both current and future generations,” Tengku Zafrul (on left in photo below) said.

As a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking, CIMB joins a coalition of 130 banks worldwide, representing over US$47 trillion (RM196.16 trillion) in assets, committed to playing a crucial role in achieving a sustainable future.

Taking place at the start of the UN General Assembly, the official launch of the Principles for Responsible Banking marked the beginning of the most significant partnership to date between the global banking industry and the UN.

“The UN Principles for Responsible Banking are a guide for the global banking industry to respond to, drive and benefit from a sustainable development economy.

“The Principles create the accountability that can realise the responsibility and the ambition that can drive action,” said UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres at the launch event, attended by the 130 Founding Signatories and over 45 of their CEOs.

The statement noted the Principles for Responsible Banking is supported by a strong implementation and accountability framework.

By signing it, CIMB is committed to being transparent on both its positive and negative impact on people and the planet.

The Principles for Responsible Banking will also provide CIMB with an effective framework to systematically identify and seize new business opportunities created by the emerging sustainable development economy and enable the bank to identify and address related risks.

Under its current strategic sustainability growth plan Forward23, CIMB has begun engaging with regulators, investors, customers, suppliers, employees and communities to create a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

CIMB will also be hosting "The Cooler Earth", its inaugural sustainability summit, on Oct 1-2, 2019, to be held in Kuala Lumpur.

- Bernama