The world's local bank
Our strategies and initiatives
HSBC is committed to keeping the environmental impact of its day-to-day operations to a minimum by integrating environmental management as standard business practice across all Bank and employee activities.
The key points of HSBC's environmental policy are:
- To reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency.
- To conserve water and other natural resources, and use renewable or recyclable materials.
- To minimise or recycle waste.
- To dispose of waste in an environmentally responsible manner.
- To favour suppliers and contractors who adopt environmentally sound practices.
To achieve these objectives, HSBC is implementing a wide range of initiatives that provide practical solutions to the world's complex and challenging environmental problems.
- HSBC became the world's first carbon neutral bank in October 2005, three months ahead of schedule. As well as reducing energy consumption, HSBC's commitment to carbon neutrality involves buying green electricity and offsetting the remaining carbon dioxide emissions by investing in carbon credit or allowance projects.
- In 2006, HSBC was rated as top in the banking industry in a global climate leadership index for its awareness of the risks and opportunities posed by climate change.
Find out more about global carbon neutral projects.
HSBC has extended its carbon management strategy into its core financial services business.
HSBC looks for opportunities to work with existing and new customers to promote energy and transport efficiency, and to look at energy technologies that emit less carbon like wind power, solar power and biofuels. We will also assist customers in understanding climate change-related risks and opportunities.
HSBC is aware that, as a bank, it could indirectly harm the environment through its business transactions. It aims to lend and invest responsibly, avoiding projects where the potential for environmental damage outweighs the economic benefits.
In September 2003, HSBC adopted the Equator Principles, a set of voluntary guidelines developed to address the environmental and social issues that arise in financing projects.
HSBC adheres to sector guidelines governing lending and investing for the forestry, freshwater infrastructure, chemicals and energy industries before credit is advanced to customers in these sectors.
The Bank also holds workshops, seminars and roadshows on topics such as illegal timber and climate change to raise employees' environmental awareness.
HSBC strives to make purchasing decisions that have less impact on the environment and also achieve savings in areas such as electricity consumption, maintenance costs and space utilisation.
A recent example of this is the Bank's purchase of 770 new PCs for its business recovery centre in Tuen Mun when the suppliers were asked to manage the reduction and removal of packaging materials.
