UOB Malaysia wins big at ESGBusiness Awards 2024
The bank has launched several initiatives that support Malaysia’s renewable energy ambitions and enhance its employee wellness offerings.
UOB Malaysia was lauded at the prestigious ESGBusiness Awards 2024 for its commitment to supporting Malaysia’s renewable energy ambitions and building a green economy, as well as its launching of several new initiatives to nurture its people’s wellness.
The bank has been proactively assisting businesses in embracing good sustainability practices to ensure that they remain competitive, resilient, and able to successfully transition to a low carbon economy. In addition, its comprehensive sustainable financing offerings also contribute to the realisation of the nation’s key policies.
Amongst the most recognised programmes the bank has launched is the U-Solar programme, which won several coveted awards last year, including the ESGBusiness Award 2023. The bank has facilitated more than RM900m worth of financing, generating more than 341GWh of solar energy, translating to a reduction of 216,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions thus far, which is equivalent to 3,571,579 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
Whilst this is significant, solar energy is only one of many sources of renewable energy that collectively make up the country’s future energy mix under the Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap.
UOB Malaysia has also provided sustainable financing towards the development of various non-solar renewable energy solutions to build the scalability of supplementary renewable energy sources. In 2022, the bank financed a biomass renewable energy plant.
The pellet production plant, with 200,000MT wood pellet capacity and 8.4MW biomass energy capacity, is integrated with AREPP to reach optimal efficiency in producing the wood pellets. This also lowers operating costs and increases the competitiveness of the biomass plant.
Moreover, UOB Malaysia is also supporting the development of green hydrogen. In June 2024, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SEDC Energy signifying a joint commitment to advancing Sarawak’s sustainable development. As part of this MOU, the bank will support SEDC Energy's H2Hub Green Hydrogen Initiatives, which are expected to produce 240,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually once operational.
The bank also co-financed the development of Southeast Asia’s first hydrogen-powered, autonomous rapid transit (ART) system in the city of Kuching, Sarawak.
The ART system is a pioneering hydrogen-powered metro line consisting of autonomous trains that produce virtually zero greenhouse gas emissions whilst also improving urban connectivity alongside related socio-economic benefits.
Given the country’s ambitious target of achieving 31% renewable energy capacity by 2025 and 40% by 2035, UOB Malaysia deems it imperative that banks finance different avenues of renewable energy, on top of solar, to achieve the collective target of the country.
For its great strides in expanding its support for renewable energy, through the financing of
biomass, hydrogen manufacturing and utilisation, and others, the bank took home the Renewable Energy Financing Programme Award - Malaysia category win in the highly sought-after awards programme.
Nurturing people the UOB way
Over the past year, UOB Malaysia has also expanded the scope of its employee wellness offerings significantly. For this, the Bank received the Workplace Wellness Programme Award - Malaysia category win for this major accomplishment.
Its FlexCARE employee benefits programme now includes vacations and medical benefits for additional family members. The bank’s headquarters boasts an in-house childcare centre for the children of employees, a gym, and a health clinic. UOB colleagues are also entitled to parental leave, which includes both maternity and paternity leave.
The bank also established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to curate various initiatives for employees to feel welcomed, valued, and respected. One of the many initiatives organised by the committee includes a “Bring Your Parents to Work Day,” a meaningful event that allows employees’ parents to experience first-hand the supportive and enriching workplace their children are part of.
Expanding its focus beyond physical well-being, UOB Malaysia launched its flagship Wellbeing Buddy Programme in June 2024. This programme trains employees to recognise and respond to early signs of mental, financial, and social stress, facilitating access to UOB’s extensive support resources.
These programmes have enabled UOB Malaysia to achieve a remarkable milestone in employee engagement, reaching an impressive engagement score of 78% in 2023. This outstanding result significantly surpasses the average Malaysian employee engagement score of 54%.
“Through these diverse initiatives, UOB Malaysia goes beyond operating a mere wellness programme for employees—we nurture a lifestyle that values health, well-being, and inclusivity, driven by Purpose, Passion, and People. As we continue to evolve and innovate, the UOB Way serves as a testament to how a purpose-driven, balanced work environment can significantly transform our corporate culture into a supportive, vibrant community,” the bank said.
The ESGBusiness Awards celebrates companies that are leading the way in building a sustainable future. It also highlights businesses that demonstrate outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance practices.
The ESGBusiness Awards is presented by ESGBusiness. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].
