The world's local bank - HSBC

HSBC FRANCE
Corporate social responsibility policy
CSR: a business strategy recognised by our
stakeholders
“For a company like HSBC, which in 2005 celebrated
140 years of aspiring to the highest standards of conduct,
corporate social responsibility has been a vital ingredient
in our success,” wrote the then Group Chairman of
HSBC Holdings plc, Sir John Bond, in his introduction
to the HSBC CSR Report 2005, emphasising the
integral part played by CSR in the Group’s strategy.
HSBC’s CSR activities have gained broad recognition.
For example, HSBC ranked fourth in the 2005
AccountAbility rating of the Fortune “Global 100”,
which assesses the best performing multinational
companies in terms of sustainable development.
From its formation in September 2003, the CSR
Committee of the HSBC Holdings Board, chaired by
Lord Butler, has overseen the Group’s CSR and
sustainability policies. It also advises the Board,
committees of the Board and executive management.
The CSR Executive Steering Group oversees the
implementation of CSR policies, performance
evaluation and communications, including HSBC’s
commitments to the United Nations Global Compact,
the Global Sullivan Principles and the OECD
guidelines for multinational companies. The steering
group comprises executives from business functions
that influence the Group’s overall CSR performance.
In France, a similar committee chaired by
G Denoyel, Deputy CEO, implements Group strategy
and co-ordinates local efforts. The committee meets
every quarter. CSR forms one of the 22 key items of the
“Efficacité pour la Croissance”(Managing for Growth)
strategic plan. As a result, each CSR project of each
department represented on the committee is monitored
properly with a high priority level.
HSBC France publishes a CSR annual report, in
which it discusses its efforts and how they fit in with the
Group strategy 1 . In 2005, the CSR annual report gave
detailed information on the 2004 CSR policy. It
comprised a French translation of the Group CSR
report along with a description of CSR work carried
out in France.
Controlling reputation risk: the basis for integrating
CSR efforts into our business activities
HSBC is a member of the Climate Group and is
committed to combating the impact of climate change
by incorporating environmental risk management
criteria into its lending policy.
Since 2003, HSBC has applied the Equator
Principles to its project financing business. This is a
first step towards integrating social and environmental
criteria into project financing deals worth more than
USD 50 million. To enhance its environmental risk
management procedures, the Group has developed inhouse
sector guidelines. The first was published in 2004
covering forest lands and forest products. The second
concerned freshwater infrastructure and the third the
chemicals industry. These guidelines form part of the
standard procedures that govern HSBC’s lending policy.
All staff in charge of implementing these procedures
received training on environmental risk and the guidelines.
In addition, the Group’s compliance policy means
that all our units and staff are required to comply with
the spirit and letter of all applicable laws, rules, regulations
and standards of conduct. HSBC is a founder member
of the Wolfsberg Group, and applies the global directives
established with the group’s other members to combat
money laundering. HSBC’s compliance policy is also
intended to guarantee that the bank’s activities are
conducted with integrity and professionalism.
HSBC France group has a network of 80 compliance
officers, who ensure that this commitment is met by
the compliance department and by the business line
to which each of them reports.
Finally, HSBC’s corporate governance policies
promote a transparency about our decisions. The Group
in France has applied French corporate governance
recommendations since 1995. Its integration into the
HSBC Group in 2000 did not alter the application of
these rules and HSBC France has adopted the new rules
and recommendations regarding corporate governance
in order to comply with the regulatory developments
and with the Group requirements. Although it has been
an unlisted company since 2000, it maintains the same
corporate governance standards as before.
HSBC: the first carbon-neutral global bank
HSBC is the first major global bank to achieve carbon
neutrality. This objective was announced in December
2004 by Sir John Bond, and was fulfilled in October
2005. This means that the HSBC Group now fully
offsets its carbon dioxide emissions.
HSBC was able to meet its carbonneutral target
through tracking environmental performance in each
region in which it operates. Based on the results of this
reporting, many countries took steps to reduce energy
consumption. In France, one member of staff works fulltime
on the Group’s national environmental reporting. In
2005, emissions were estimated at 17,170 tonnes of CO 2
for the Group in France. The Group then started buying
“green”electricity, and also purchased offset credits from
1 These reports are available on request from HSBC France’s Communication Department.
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