In recognition of its efforts to meet global environment, social, and governance (ESG) standards, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) was recently named the Philippines’ best bank for ESG 2022 at this year’s Asiamoney Best Bank Awards.
In a statement, Asiamoney cited the five goals of UnionBank in promoting sustainability in the country, which are poverty reduction, improvement of education, making growth greener, climate change mitigation, and increased innovation and industrial efficiency.
“The bank’s commitment to ESG, and being an incubator for innovation and digitalization, are complementary pursuits. By building strong, entrepreneurial and resilient communities, the thinking goes, there will be loads of new customers and deals coming UnionBank’s way,” Asiamoney said.
One of the initiatives recognized by Asiamoney in line with these goals is the Bank’s partnership with the International Finance Corp. to issue social bonds to finance small business loans, which has benefitted countless micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
Asiamoney also highlighted the Bank’s adherence to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals particularly through its sustainable finance framework, as well as its Tech-Up Pilipinas advocacy which contributes to the country’s digital transformation through inclusive and technology-driven co-creation and knowledge sharing.
Two other initiatives highlighted by Asiamoney were UnionBank’s PeopleTech initiative aimed at helping stakeholders hone their digital literacy and know-how in reducing their carbon footprint; and the Xcellerator program which empowers internal and external talent with knowledge relevant in the digital economy.
“We at UnionBank believe that sustainability is the way forward, which is why we adopted ESG to become a component of everything that we do,” said UnionBank Chief Human Resource Officer Michelle Rubio. “To Asiamoney, we express our heartfelt gratitude for this recognition, and to UnionBankers, you made this happen. This is for you.”
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