Dr. Adit Laixuthai, KBank Senior Executive Vice President, noted that KBank conducts its business on the foundation of being a Bank of Sustainability. The Bank is fully committed to taking action to alleviate climate change and its increasingly severe impacts with the aim of fulfilling the Paris Agreement – COP 21 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). KBank has played a pivotal role in contributing to a low-carbon society, as we aim to be a zero-carbon organization over the long term. Therefore, a policy on Adaptation and Mitigation of the Impact of Climate Change has been incorporated into KBank's sustainable development policy, along with revision of our business operations and a policy on financial support to environmentally-friendly businesses. As we aim for a 20-percent cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020 (from base year 2012), we have implemented an environmental management system (EMS) and conducted assessment on impacts, risks and operations related to climate change, along with an environmental performance report prepared annually.
To measure the efficiency of KBank's performance in alleviating the impacts of climate change, we have participated in the CDP scoring process, designed to assess environmental transparency and performance of participating companies. In 2019, KBank earned A – score (Leadership Level) from CDP in climate change management, being one of three firms to achieve the highest score among Thai companies in this category, plus the first and only bank in Thailand to garner an A- score in climate change. This accomplishment reflects our international GHG management standards, which are in alignment with KBank's priority towards improving operational processes and services, as well as accelerating the building of knowledge and understanding about environmental conservation among staff members. Meanwhile, KBank has supported the rehabilitation of the country's most important watershed forests as part of our efforts to address climate change. To sustainably help solve climate change problems, the Bank will embrace the "Circular Economy" concept in our operations concerning waste disposal and reductions in the use of plastic, energy and other resources.
CDP is an international non-profit organization, focusing on climate change management, based on international carbon dioxide and climate change standards. It is an important online GHG information source for the world's leading organizations. International investors have confidence towards CDP data for their decision-making. CDP scores range from A to D-. Most organizations and financial institutions in Asia have obtained a C score, while KBank received an A- score in 2019, which was the highest score ever given to Thai organizations.