104
We are steadfast in building a profitable company —one that provides good
return for shareholders, employees and communities, as well as good stewardship
of the environment. In 2014, we are determined to launch a comprehensive set of
sustainability commitments and goals. We believe that every action and decision
we take must contribute to humanising financial services. To substantiate this
vision and enable us to monitor our progress, we plan to introduce this set of
sustainability key commitments to be attained by 2020.
We are proud of what we have achieved so far. We have been recognised as the 13th strongest bank in the world. With a commitment from the Board to contribute a
minimum of 1% of PATAMI on community programmes, we are one of Asia’s most active corporate citizens. We have 22 million customers and 47,771 employees across the
world. And with our recently approved Community Investment Roadmap (CIR), we are pushing our efforts further with our CR programmes for long-term impact and clear
tracking. Our scale, resources and influence will enable us to lay the foundation and make a difference to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues around Asia.
We need to prepare Maybank for the future and for this purpose, we are asking ourselves hard questions.
NewRealities
Underlying our sustainability journey is a steep learning curve. We are rethinking our growth and the hard issues that confront a growing business with a strong presence
in ASEAN — economic divides, community empowerment, gender parity and resource constraints. The financial services industry is going through a period of significant
change. What are the key trends and new realities affecting us? What risks do they pose to our business? And, more importantly, perhaps, what opportunities do they bring?
We want to be able to look back and know that at this point, we took stock and considered how we want to create a place for the Group in the changing context of business.
Our plan is to open pathways to new thinking and collaboration which in turn will create evolving systems as we forge ahead. The point is this: we don’t have all the answers
at this stage but we are sure that if we think, plan and open room for dialogue, we will find a landing point.
The financial sector value chain is informed by the wider economy and we recognise the need to develop clear ESG Guidelines for this purpose, including building ESG
capacity amongst our business units and be public about our commitments. At the heart of our ESG philosophy is our leadership in Islamic Finance which acts as an ethical
compass for our investment decisions and beyond. If we are to embrace Islamic Finance in its true sense, the economy cannot prosper at the expense of society and the
environment. Inclusivity in financial decisions takes courage and a willingness to focus on the long term.
OurBlueprintforaSustainableWorld
Launching a comprehensive set of sustainability commitments and goals is going to be the easy part. It is what comes after — how we nurture and grow the plan and ensure
that it is truly embedded in the organisation moving forward — that will be the challenge. We need to enable tracking of performance and provide a radar for the path ahead.
There is no point setting goals without a clear idea of how to achieve them. Alongside the sustainability plan, we are working on a global monitoring system. The monitoring
system will complement our CIR tracker.
What if we miss our targets? Sustainability is not a static agenda. We know that the issues that impact our customers, employees and the broader community, and our
response to those issues, will all evolve over time. We feel that the only way to address this complexity is to work together with our stakeholders. Beyond goals, targets and
measurements, sustainability is about building relationships. If we are committed to building genuine, long-term relationships which are based on mutual trust and respect,
then we will place those relationships at the heart of our decision-making; and we will find our true north.
We invite you to join us on this journey.
thejourneyahead
