RHB Banking Group (RHB) has announced the formation of a board sustainability committee (BSC) to assist the board of directors in promoting the group's sustainability and climate-related agendas, as well as providing oversight for Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) concerns.

Previously, the group's board of directors had direct oversight of sustainability issues.

The bank said in a statement that with the launch of RHB's five-year (2022-2026) sustainability strategy and roadmap, a decision was made to establish the BSC to allow for greater focus and in-depth discussions at the highest level on material sustainability and climate-related issues.

Datuk Iain John Lo chairs the BSC, which also includes Tan Sri Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Datuk Mohamad Nasir Ab Latif, and Donald Joshua Jaganathan, all of whom have extensive leadership experience and strong awareness of sustainability issues.

“The BSC will play a crucial role in providing strategic oversight of the group’s sustainability and climate-related strategies and actions towards ensuring that we continue to strike the right balance across the triple bottom line of planet, people, and profits,” said Iain.

The bank expects to raise RM20 billion in sustainable financial services by 2026, which is roughly 7% of the group's total assets as of December 2021.

As of June 2022, total achievements surpassed RM 11 billion.

RHB already stated that it would no longer pursue opportunities or provide finance for new thermal coal mining and coal-fired power plant projects beginning in January 2022.

The bank has also taken a stance on no deforestation, no peat, and no exploitation (NDPE) in the palm oil, forestry, and agriculture sectors and only finances responsible companies that demonstrate alignment with its NDPE stance.

Source: The Edge Markets

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