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HSBC publishes 2003 CSR report
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HSBC publishes 2003 CSR report
30 March 2004
HSBC has published its 2003 report on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, HSBC in Society, which will be sent to shareholders with the Annual Report & Accounts from today.
The report outlines the values and principles by which HSBC operates, provides an overview of HSBC’s philanthropic support for communities worldwide, and reports on progress the Group has made to reduce its environmental impact.
“As the role of business and particularly multinational enterprise, has come under increasing scrutiny, so the need has grown for companies such as HSBC to set out their views on a wide range of social, ethical and environmental issues,” Sir John Bond, HSBC Chairman, said, in his foreword to the report.
During 2003, HSBC took two major steps forward to improve sustainability. In September, the Group adopted the Equator Principles, guidelines that provide a framework for assessing the environmental and social issues that arise in financing projects. They will be implemented across the Group during 2004.
The Group also began work with WWF on the sustainability of HSBC’s internal policies and standards. WWF is one of HSBC’s three partners in Investing in Nature, an ambitious five-year project to clean up some of the world’s major rivers, save plants from extinction and to increase environmental research. HSBC is now developing sustainable lending policies for freshwater and forest land.
Other initiatives in 2003 reflect CSR’s position at the heart of HSBC’s business agenda. A CSR committee of the HSBC Holdings plc Board, chaired by Lord Butler, a non-executive director, was created. Three other non-executive directors will sit on the committee alongside several well-known figures from outside the world of banking.
The CSR report also reveals the breadth of HSBC’s philanthropic programmes, which saw the Group donate over US$47 million to support communities worldwide in 2003. Over half of all donations were made to education and environment causes, areas where HSBC believes it can make a real difference.
For example, globally HSBC funds 3,400 awards and scholarships each year to help talented youngsters achieve their potential. Promoting positive attitudes among young people is another aim of the HSBC Education Trust and in support of this Emma Richards, the record-breaking round-the-world yachtswoman, became an ambassador for the Trust in 2003.
Investing in Nature is HSBC’s key environmental initiative, and good progress is being made on protecting endangered plant species, in freshwater management in the Amazon, the Yangtze, the Rio Grande and the UK. In addition, by the end of 2003, over 500 HSBC staff had participated in environment field research projects, achieving the equivalent of one scientist working for 25 years.
For more information, download HSBC in Society here or visit our Corporate responsibility section.
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HSBC in Society - Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2003
(52 page pdf 3,376K)
Due to the size of the document you may wish to download a specific section:
Foreword
(2 page pdf 108K)
HSBC in Society
(2 page pdf 63K)
Listening to views
(5 page pdf 168K)
Acting responsibly
(4 page pdf 49K)
Managing our impacts
(7 page pdf 334K)
Responsibility to customers
(3 page pdf 120K)
Sharing our success
(3 page pdf 901K)
Investing in Education
(11 page pdf 696K)
Investing in Nature
(5 page pdf 550K)
Investing in the Community
(2 page pdf 158K)
Investing in our people
(4 page pdf 223K)
External commentary
(1 page pdf 23K)
