"Sustainable Life Card" Builds A Sustainable Future With You
Taiwan Business Bank
Project Commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
INTRODUCTION
TBB integrates ESG sustainable development into its credit card products. The Sustainable Life Card focuses on the concept of “vegetables reducing carbon emissions and green energy sharing”. TBB is dedicated to striking a balance between economic development and environmental sustainability. The company would like to attract more people interested in green living and taking positive actions that make a difference.In response to the challenges of climate change and the expectations of international investors, TBB completed the greenhouse gas inventory of all units in the bank in 2022. The company has set a progressive carbon reduction target, monitored the electricity consumption of branches through its system, increased the utilization of renewable energy, and more to reduce carbon emissions.
FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY
In order to improve sustainable development, TBB set up the “Sustainable Development Committee” affiliated with the Board of Directors which formulated the “Sustainable Development Medium and Long-term Strategy”. In December 2022, a “Sustainable Finance” task force was added to the committee to establish a top-down and more effective sustainable governance structure. The committee would report to the Board of Directors on the implementation of outcomes for sustainable development every year.In addition, TBB keeps promoting product transformation. The Sustainable Life Card provides up to 10% rewards for green consumerism in vegetarian restaurants, organic channels, public and shared transportation, and encourages customers to support environmental protection and pay attention to environmentally sustainable development. Thematic marketing activities are held on the four major international environmental protection days as a call for attention to environmental protection issues and the conscious reduction of carbon emissions in daily life.
ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT
In 2022, TBB signed the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and released its first “TCFD Report” which obtained “Level-5: Excellence” - the highest level of certification. TBB also received a “B” score management level for filling out the CDP climate change questionnaire for the first time as well as winning a couple of awards that year, which is a great affirmation of TBB’s sustainable performance. The company will continue to move towards the goal of Net Zero in the future.As of December 2022, the cumulative card issuance rate of TBB’s environmental protection material credit card (made of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol) was 23% and the total number of cards issued was almost 42 thousand. Around 25 thousand people paid for green channels with the Sustainable Life Card and the amount of money spent was about NTD1.05 million.
In order to encourage customers to apply for credit cards online and reducing the paper used, TBB has optimized and developed a rapid approval process for online card applications. The annual growth rate of online card applications has increased by 43%. Furthermore, TBB holds an incentive marketing campaign to guide customers to apply for electronic bills instead of paper ones. Following this, there were about 32 thousand applications for electronic bills and the annual growth rate has increased by 35%.
FUTURE DIRECTION
TBB’s sustainable goal is to achieve Net Zero by 2040. Its sustainable development policy is implemented through six task forces of the aforementioned committee. Among the six task forces, the sustainable environment task force actively reduces carbon emissions from its operation and through the use of renewable energy. It also pushes forward ISO14001 and ISO50001 environment and energy management systems and conducts ISO14064-1 greenhouse gas inventory of all units in the bank.For all outstanding credit cards, TBB plans to obtain the ISO14067 carbon footprint and carbon reduction label from Environmental Protection Administration in 2024. With this, TBB’s customers might think about proactively practicing green consumerism, slowing down global warming and climate change, and implementing environmental sustainability when they decide to apply for TBB’s credit cards.
Taiwan Business Bank (TBB) is a specialized bank charged with the
provision of financial assistance and guidance to SMEs. It has been
cultivating the SME financial services field for more than 45 years.
