Shinhan Financial Group was selected as the best company in the domestic banking sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index (DJSI Korea) on Oct. 20. DJSI is a global standard appraising sustainability of global companies. It is an index boasting of the world's best authority and performance.
Ahead of this, the group, led by CEO Shin Sang-hoon, was enrolled in the Asia Pacific Index for the first time among domestic financial institutions, according to the Sept. 3 announcement of DJSI World and Asia Pacific.
It indicates that the sustainable management of Shinhan Financial Group, one of the nation's leading financial holding companies, is recognized as the global standard level, a Shinhan spokesman said.
DJSI has been appraising enterprises' sustainability management status by comprehensively taking into account economic, environmental and social factors, not to mention grasping financial information. In particular, the group acquired good marks exceeding the average of the world's banking industry in the economic, environmental and social sectors this time.
Shinhan was recognized of its strenuous efforts to prepare and carry out sustainability management after setting it as a core agenda, the spokesman said.
Shinhan Smile Financial Foundation
Under the managerial motto of "the bank for the nation and the bank helping each other," Shinhan has been staging various social contribution activities since its inauguration. Recently, it established "Shinhan Smile Financial Foundation" for the socially alienated people.
In particular, Shinhan has been carrying out the group-level project to strengthen its management ability related to risk management, green management and customer management, which are emerged as the important guidelines to measure possibility of enterprises' sustainability management.
The group recently announced steps to propel green financing and has been actively pushing ahead with a plan to upgrade customer relationship management (CRM). Noteworthy is that Shinhan Financial Group acquired the world's best mark in the banking industry in the CRM item in recognition of its excellent customer management ability. The group's diversified and balanced business portfolio also served as a key factor to attain the favorable result in sustainability management.
For instance, Shinhan Financial Group secured various products suitable for the group's character focused on environment and green financing, including "Hopeful energy installment savings" of Shinhan Bank, "Subcompact car loving card" of Shinhan card, "Carbon emission right DLS" of Shinhan Financial Investment, and "Environment-related disease prevention service" of Shinhan Life Insurance. Such products are mutually supplementing merits and demerits.
Establishment of Sustainability Management System
In a ceremony celebrating the eighth anniversary of its founding on Sept. 1, CEO Shin Sang-hoon proposed the establishment of sustainability management system.
In line with this, the group has been preparing a variety of steps to upgrade its sustainability management system through bolstering of group-level social contribution activities, publication of group-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, and implementation of green financing projects, the spokesman said.
To actively foster green management, the group also unveiled a long-term plan, including three key principles and five action plans. The three key principles are: offering more financial activities supporting "low carbon, green growth"; playing a role in reorganizing the economy into an eco-friendly one; and minimizing anti-environmental activities.
In an attempt to follow the key principles, the group came up with five action plans. First, the group, as a member of the Federation of Korean Banks, plans to develop "non-taxable, long-term green deposit products."Second, it will give higher grades to environment-friendly businesses in credit evaluation by taking environmental risks into consideration.
Third, it plans to introduce a group-wide carbon emission management system. Fourth, it will make more efforts to reduce carbon emissions by saving energy and replacing illuminators with high-efficient LED (light-emitting diodes) lights. Fifth, the group aims to reduce its carbon emissions to zero through the so-called carbon offset-based management philosophy.
"Shinhan will not satisfy its enrollment in the Asia Pacific Index and the No. 1 ranking in the domestic banking industry in terms of DJSI's first appraisal. We will continue making all-out efforts to be included in the World Index and compete with world-famous advanced financial institutions on an equal footing," said the spokesman.
