【Sustainable Finance/ESG Management and Disclosure】ICBC Wins Southern Weekly's Awards of "2023 Outstanding Responsible Enterprise" and "2024 Outstanding Responsibility Communication"
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ICBC was recently awarded “2023 Outstanding Responsible Enterprise” by Southern Weekly, and meanwhile, ICBC’s “three-in-one ESG information disclosure system” was awarded “2024 Outstanding Responsibility Communication”.
With the mission of “Excellence for You – Excellent services for clients, Maximum returns to shareholders, Real success for employees, Great contribution to society”, ICBC has always unified economic responsibilities and social responsibilities in its business development process. In the development plan of the Group, the Bank has set out major steps for developing green finance and supporting ecological conservation, proposed that “the Bank will lead the way in practicing green development” , and implemented the specific measure of “building of green finance and ESG system”.
In 2023, ICBC optimized financial supply and played the key role in serving the real economy. It optimized its modernization layout and deepened the development of “Five Priorities” of technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance. Throughout 2023, the Bank’s loans increased by over RMB2.8 trillion and the balance of and increment in loans to manufacturing hit a new high. The Bank continued to optimize the technology finance service system that features “specialized institutions, special actions, exclusive products, special risk control and exclusive support”, and enhanced financial support for sci-tech innovation results with a view to fostering new quality productive forces. As at the end of 2023, the Bank’s balance of loans to strategic emerging industries recorded RMB2.7 trillion. The Bank further improved the long-term mechanism for inclusive finance and promoted common prosperity with financial power. As at the end of 2023, the Bank’s balance of inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises amounted to RMB2.23 trillion, representing a growth rate of 43.7%. To support rural revitalization, the Bank established an omni-channel online and offline service system for rural finance. As at the end of 2023, the Bank’s balance of agriculture-related loans was close to RMB4.24 trillion, representing a growth rate of over 29%. The Bank put forth effort to create a new pattern of comprehensive and coordinated development of the three sectors of pension finance, focused on the development of the pension fund finance service system, and provided exclusive services to meet the management needs of pillar 3 pension plan funds. Via the service system of the “ICBC Aixiangban” elderly customer service brand, the Bank provided considerate services to elderly customers, and through GBC+ business collaboration, the Bank engaged in elderly industry finance service at an earlier stage and made the silver economy a sunrise industry of the Bank. Meanwhile, the Bank aligned with the UN SDGs, increased supply of sustainable finance, and made greater financial contributions to areas such as grain, energy, healthcare, education and charity.
In terms of ESG information disclosure, ICBC has released an annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report for seventeen consecutive years and was the first in the industry to have released a half-year ESG report for three consecutive years. ICBC has set up a section called “ESG Information” under the ESG column on its portal website, through which, ICBC discloses ESG management performance and work results at real time, works to create a comprehensive, multi-dimensional and continuous ESG portrait, and builds a channel and window for high-frequency dialogue with the market.
Since Southern Weekly initiated the project of “Social Responsibility Research of Chinese Enterprises” with several domestic professional institutions in 2003, it has continuously monitored and evaluated enterprises’ social responsibility performance. Over the past 21 years, Southern Weekly has formed a “1+N” list matrix. Every year, it evaluates nearly 700 enterprises and releases the “China Corporate Social Responsibility List”, which has effectively enhanced the awareness and action of corporate social responsibility across the society.
