Sustainability

We at BEA regard our people as our greatest asset. We believe that to serve the needs of our customers and community effectively, all of our employees must have the opportunity to realise their potential. We therefore invest heavily in training and development. At the same time, we strive to ensure that our staff members can achieve a healthy work-life balance, and our volunteer team provides opportunities for our staff members to contribute to the local community.

We foster a learning culture by providing a wide spectrum of training, ranging from technical know-how to the development of soft skills via different learning modes including classroom and our e-Learning platform, Learning@BEA.

To promote the continuous professional development of our staff, we support staff members in their pursuit of professional qualifications as guided by the HKMA’s Enhanced Competency Framework.
We are committed to nurturing young talent under various programmes, namely the Management Trainee, Relationship Manager Trainee, and internal audit trainee programmes. In addition, our “Future Leader Accelerated Programme”, which prepares mid-career high-potential staff members for future leadership roles, provides a series of structured development interventions that support growth and career development, including on-the-job development, coaching and mentoring, and leadership training.

Making staff satisfaction a priority

Staff satisfaction is important to us and we place great emphasis on open and effective dialogue with our staff.

Each quarter, we conduct Senior Management town halls led by our Co-Chief Executives, who ensure our team is kept abreast of the Group’s performance and strategic developments. Information is cascaded through our organisation during divisional town halls, which are organised throughout the year.

We also gather the opinions of staff members through regular conversations such as line management meetings and appraisals, while our employee surveys enable us to enhance our work environment and bank culture, as well as to improve employees’ job satisfaction and engagement. 

Providing a comprehensive range of staff benefits

To attract, retain, and motivate highly qualified people, we constantly review and enhance the staff benefits in response to feedback we receive through our employee surveys, and we offer a comprehensive range of benefits to our employees. In addition, we provide competitive compensation and incentives to improve individual job performance.

To help ensure staff wellbeing, the Bank has partnered with a professional consultancy to provide the Employee Assistance Programme (“EAP”) for our staff members and their family members. EAP services include confidential support, advice, and counselling from a team of experienced social workers and counsellors via a 24-hour hotline.

Our BEA Tower offices offer numerous facilities that have been designed exclusively for our staff members. These include a state-of-the-art auditorium for training, a staff canteen, a fully-equipped gymnasium, and a relaxing rooftop garden.

Our Staff Sports & Recreation Club is operated by a committee comprising representatives from different divisions. The Club organises various activities for staff members, such as yoga courses, kayaking classes and urban farming workshops.

Providing equal opportunities

Diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity are foundational to creating a workplace where all individuals feel comfortable and supported. Our Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy references the values and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN, and the Fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organisation. It guides us as we build an inclusive workplace where performance is assessed on professional ability and staff members from all backgrounds are empowered to reach their full potential. The Bank’s Code of Conduct, Staff Handbook, and Human Rights Policy clearly outline our commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity. Training materials have also been developed to promote diversity and inclusion across the Bank.

A goal of zero incidents in health and safety

Health and safety are factored into every operation within BEA. Our goal is zero accidents and injuries. We pay close attention to possible workplace safety issues to reduce potentially dangerous incidents, and we maintain close communications with our employees to address any concerns. Underpinning our approach is an Occupational Health and Safety Policy and Manual that applies to all Group staff in the markets we serve.

Enhancing Our Environmental Performance

We at BEA are committed to integrating environmentally sound practices into our business and operations. From building management and energy saving measures to waste management, we constantly strive to innovate and improve our environmental performance.

Zeroing in on our operational emissions

Everyone has the responsibility to fight global warming. BEA is doing its part by making a commitment to reduce the Group’s total carbon emissions by 46% from 2019 to 2030, and offset the remaining emissions via carbon offsetting measures to reach net zero emissions in our operations by 2030. We have developed a Scope 1 and 2 Net Zero Roadmap to achieve long-term net zero in our operational emissions by 2050.

Continuous improvement in building management

We want to provide all of our stakeholders with a healthy and clean environment. Our direct impact on the environment stems mainly from the buildings where we conduct business: our Head Office Building, BEA Tower, and our branches. Our environmental initiatives focus on reducing this impact. To achieve our commitments towards emissions reduction effectively, we continue to invest in new green building technologies including more efficient LED lighting, energy management systems, and the retrofitting or replacement of air conditioning units.

In 2022, we conducted a feasibility study to map out a building improvement plan for 2023 to 2029. We have set goals to replace or optimise key installations, such as chillers, air conditioning units, and lighting at our offices.

Reducing and recycling waste

We endeavour to continuously reduce the amount of waste we generate. To this end, we weigh all waste generated by our two main buildings in Hong Kong, and we have set up recycling facilities in our offices to encourage waste separation. Targets and improvement roadmaps have been set for waste reduction and diversion.

Since we evaluated our paper use in Hong Kong and identified significant room for improvement in 2020, paper reduction has been a major area of focus for us. We aim to reduce paper consumption by more than 70% by 2023 and, through the promotion of paper saving and various digitalisation initiatives, we have made considerable progress towards our reduction target.

Raising awareness of environmental issues

We aim to promote environmentally responsible behaviour among our employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. We build our employees’ awareness and knowledge of environmental issues through internal communication, training, and participation in external events and volunteering activities. We encourage our customers to save paper by switching to e-statements, and using our digital branches and services.

Suppliers of the Group are required to acknowledge compliance with BEA’s Supplier Code of Conduct. In 2022, we updated our ESG risk calculator for supplier monitoring and our Guideline for the Procure-to-Pay Process to enhance our management of ESG risks in the supply chain.

Promoting a sustainable supply chain

As a responsible business, we have taken action to understand how we can best amplify our positive impacts and mitigate any potential negative impacts of our procurement practices. We have introduced policies and procedures to promote responsible procurement across our supply chains. In doing so, we can protect vulnerable groups, promote sustainable products, and reduce our exposure to risk.

Our Supplier Code of Conduct stipulates our expectations on matters of compliance with all relevant legislation, social and ethical standards, environmental matters, and suppliers’ impacts on the local communities. As part of our standard procurement process, suppliers are required to acknowledge our Supplier Code of Conduct and confirm compliance when signing agreements with BEA.

Our Guideline for Procure-to-Pay Process is another tool used by the Bank to ensure the procurement and tendering processes are being conducted with due diligence, integrity, and impartiality. The Guideline illustrates the workflows and clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved.