Awards for Distinction 2018 – Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility

Best Private Bank Corporate Social Responsibility

 

Credit Suisse

Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility

Liza Green

head of Corporate
Citizenship Asia Pacific,
Credit Suisse

“We are delighted to win the Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility award once again. This award is a reflection of our continuous commitment to our corporate responsibility efforts in Asia focused around the theme of ‘Collaborating for Innovation’, whereby we play a key role in collaborative efforts to build a social investment ecosystem, build the capacity of our partners and advance sustainable practices in Asia by bringing together multiple contributors including corporates, our partners and clients as well as the public sector. This year, we expanded our unique collective impact program in Singapore – the inaugural Singapore Youth Impact Collective. As a leading financial services provider, we strive to assume our corporate responsibilities in every aspect of our work, based on our duties as a financial services provider, member of society, an employer and our commitment to the environment.”

Winners rationale

Credit Suisse has once again demonstrated that its commitment to its internal and external stakeholders extends beyond business and that being a corporate citizen does not only demand reactivity but proactivity. Taking into consideration the UN’s 17 SDGs, the bank facilitates initiatives amongst its departments, employees, and peers to create sustainable value and engender systemic change all the while maintaining a necessary sense of urgency.

In a bid to strengthen the foundation of its CSR culture, the bank updated its conduct and ethics standards which now comprise client focus, accountability, meritocracy, transparency, as well as a commitment to partnering and improving stakeholder management. Internally, some of these translated into effective employee engagement. Employees are also encouraged to support the bank’s external philanthropic efforts by taking up to four days a year to volunteer their time to social projects run by the bank’s partners. In 2018, the employee engagement rate in APAC reached 54% — the highest ever in Asia Pacific — and Credit Suisse, together with its staff, raised money for those affected by the Lombok earthquake, Kerala floods, and Indonesia tsunami in 2018.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse continued to reduce its carbon footprint by having reduced its emissions by 41% in the last two years while having operated on a greenhouse gas neutral basis since 2010. The bank’s employees in APAC also established a ‘bring your own cup’ discount scheme last year and set about eliminating plastic straws, containers, and bags from on-premise coffee shops and canteens.

Internal efforts aside, Credit Suisse’s reputation as a CSR leader lies in its understanding that solving the world’s problems and tackling the SDGs requires teamwork and cooperation. For example, its Financial Education for Girls initiative — which affected almost 100,000 adolescent girls, nearly 3,500 teachers, and 1,495 schools across three continents — benefitted from a decade of collaboration with partners. Meanwhile in 2018, the bank entered into a three-year partnership with Habitat for Humanity to address inadequate housing among low-income residents of the Philippines and Indonesia — a project that is expected to affect 9,000 families.

With its unwavering commitment to its stakeholders near and far and its genuine desire to enact real and lasting change, Credit Suisse continues to set the standard for corporate citizenship across all industries.

Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Corporate Social Responsibility for 2018.


Contact Us
All awards related enquiries to
[email protected]
+852 2529 4277