HSBC 2014 Annual Report Download - page 103

HSBC BANK PLC
Report of the Directors: Corporate Governance (continued)
101
to sensitive sectors and themes. HSBC assesses and
supports customers using the Group’s own policies
which are regularly reviewed and refined. The Group has
policies covering agricultural commodities, chemicals,
defence, energy, forestry, freshwater infrastructure,
mining and metals, World Heritage Sites and Ramsar
Wetlands and also applies the Equator Principles.
HSBC welcomes constructive feedback from non-
governmental organisations and campaign groups and
regularly engages with a number of them to discuss
matters of shared interest.
In 2014, HSBC published the reports of two independent
reviews into the content and implementation of the
Group’s Forest Land and Forest Products Sector Policy,
by Proforest and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
respectively. HSBC also issued new policies on Forestry,
Agricultural Commodities and World Heritage Sites and
Ramsar Wetlands, reflecting the recommendations.
These documents can be found online at hsbc.com/sus-
risk.
Climate business
HSBC understands that in response to climate change
there is a shift required towards a lower-carbon
economy. HSBC is committed to accelerating that shift by
supporting customers involved in ‘climate business’ by
seeking long-term low-carbon commercial business
opportunities. HSBC’s climate business includes clients in
the solar, wind, biomass, energy efficiency, low-carbon
transport and water sectors. In 2014, HSBC’s Climate
Change Research team was recognised as the top team
in the industry.
Sustainable Operations
Managing HSBC’s own environmental footprint supports
business efficiency and is part of the Group’s long-term
contribution to society. HSBC works together and with its
suppliers to find new ways to reduce the impact of its
operations on the environment. HSBC is purchasing
renewable energy, designing and operating its buildings
and data centres more efficiently and reducing waste.
The Group has committed to cut its annual per employee
carbon dioxide emissions from 3.5 to 2.5 tonnes by 2020.
As part of the strategy to achieve this, HSBC has a target
to increase energy consumption from renewables to 25
per cent by 2020 from zero. In 2014, HSBC signed three
power purchase agreements with renewable energy
generators in the UK and India. This is expected to
provide 9 per cent of HSBC’s energy.
Sustainable Communities
HSBC believes that education and resources such as safe
water and sanitation are essential to resilient
communities, which are, in turn, the basis of thriving
economies and businesses.
HSBC provides financial contributions to community
projects, and thousands of employees across the world
get involved by volunteering their time and sharing their
skills.
Every year, HSBC’s UK Young People Programme donates
£14 million to charities working on education, life skills
and entrepreneurship. The programme helps more than
41,000 young people each year and provides
volunteering opportunities for more than 2,000
employees.
As part of this programme, in April 2013 HSBC launched
a three-year, £30 million Opportunity Partnership to help
young people to get into education, work or training.
HSBC is working with charity partners Catch22, St Giles
Trust, The Prince’s Trust and Tomorrow’s People, which
specialise in the employment, training and education of
disadvantaged 16 to 25 year-olds who face difficulty at
school, college or work because they lack confidence,
skills or the support of a stable home. In the first
eighteen months of the partnership, 28,456 16-25 year
olds have been helped, with 12,905 getting into
education, training or employment, against a target of
25,000 across three years.
The five-year US$100 million HSBC Water Programme
aims to provide safe water to 1.1 million people and
sanitation for 1.9 million people in South Asia and West
Africa by working with WaterAid; protect freshwater
ecosystems in some of the world's most important river
basins with WWF; and enable 100,000 HSBC employees
across four continents to participate in online freshwater
research and learning by working with Earthwatch.
In Europe, HSBC is funding a further nine water-related
projects. With the charity Global Action Plan, for
example, the US$4.3 million Water Explorer education
programme aims to engage and educate school children
in 11 countries about the importance of water. In the UK,
HSBC is funding projects with both the Wildfowl and
Wetlands Trust ($1.6m) and Thames21 ($0.8m) that aim
to reach over 90,000 school children, teaching them
about the importance of rivers and wetlands and their
role in protecting these vital resources.
Volunteering and donations
Thousands of HSBC employees globally are involved
every year by volunteering for the Group’s Community
Investment programmes. Further detail on these
programmes is available at hsbc.com and will be updated
with information for 2014 in April 2015.
In 2014, the bank supported community activities in the
UK through charitable donations and UK employees gave
around 48,000 hours to volunteer in work time. In 2014,
the UK business gave £4.2 million in charitable donations
and in addition the Group Community Investment spend
in the UK was £20.8 million.
Auditor
Following a tender process for the audit of HSBC
Holdings plc and its subsidiaries that took place in 2013,
it was recommended that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
be appointed as auditors for HSBC Group entities
effective for periods ending on or after 1 January 2015.
As a result KPMG Audit plc will not be seeking re-
appointment as the bank’s auditor for the financial year
commencing 1 January 2015. A resolution proposing the
appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditor
of the bank and giving authority to the Directors to
determine its remuneration will be submitted to the
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.