HSBC brings stakeholders together to combat climate change

As a part of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited’s (HSBC) initiatives for sustainability and to act on their responsibilities as individuals and corporates, HSBC Bangladesh has organised the first of the climate series events titled ‘Together for Climate’ with support from Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Wednesday.

This programme brought together the champions of sustainability including, startups, students, corporates, regulators, policy makers amongst others to drive city centric Climate Action by sharing their innovative new climate solutions and success stories, HSBC said in a statement.

The event was divided into three major segments: unlocking the solutions for the climate, local leadership and global reach, and ask the mayor- live Q&A session.

DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam, also a member of Mayors Migration Council (MMC), attended the programme as the chief guest. British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Anne van Leeuwen, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh ITO Naoki, Bangladesh Bank Sustainable Finance Department Director Khondkar Morshed Millat, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Md Jashim Uddin, HSBC Bangladesh CEO Md Mahbub ur Rahman, BRAC Bangladesh Executive Director Asif Saleh, Unilever Bangladesh CEO and Managing Director Zaved Akhtar, Garbageman Founder and CEO Fahim Uddin Shuvo, and esteemed members of Mayors Migration Council graced the event with their presence.

During his live Q&A session, the DNCC mayor said, “Cities are on the frontlines of pressing global issues such as climate change and migration. Dhaka North City Corporation has taken many steps to address environmental concerns such as our Waterbody Recovery project to restoration of parks.”

“We need to work together with private sector, development partners and also the citizens to accelerate our responses to the climate concerns and bring innovative solutions for a sustainable city,” he added.

The British high commissioner said, “It is now clear that the story of how countries address climate change will necessarily be a story of how we redesign and rebuild our cities. It is essential that cities have a clear pathway towards net zero, as well as prioritising investing in crucial public services, ensuring access to healthy and sustainable food, creating green jobs, and giving public spaces back to people and nature.”

In his introductory remarks, the CEO of HSBC Bangladesh said, “Cities are major contributors to climate change, however, they may equally be where we see the impact of climate mitigation more clearly. To drive city centric climate movement, HSBC believes individuals, corporates and policymakers can make a difference by working ‘Together for Climate’ focusing on the 3A’s- Awareness, Adaptation and Action.”

HSBC Bangladesh has pioneered many Sustainable Financial Solutions bringing it global expertise in the market such as Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL), Social Loan, etc.

HSBC has a global ambition to contribute in sustainable financing and to support its customer switch to more sustainable ways of doing business and bring own financed emissions to net-zero by 2050 or earlier.

Through initiatives like ‘Together for Climate’, HSBC aims to provide insights for the stakeholders to engage and encourage the best practices for sustainability in all aspects of society.