Maybank group chief human capital officer Nora Abd Manaf said the policy allows employees to volunteer at their own place, preference and time.
PETALING JAYA: In an effort to promote a sustainability mindset among its employees, Malayan Banking Bhd
(Maybank) has started to offer its employees an option of one-month paid leave annually for them to pursue long-term sustainability and volunteerism initiatives.
In a statement, Maybank said the initiative is part of the bank’s effort to encourage greater employee involvement in sustainability-led activities.
The largest bank by assets in Malaysia also said it has introduced a self-led sustainability and volunteerism policy.
Group chief human capital officer Datuk Nora Abd Manaf said the policy allows its employees to volunteer at their own place, preference and time.
According to Nora, the one-month paid sustainability leave option for employees who want to pursue volunteerism initiatives is approved by its sustainability office.
“There is also the option of 1+1, whereby an additional one month can be applied with relevant internal approvals.
“The bank strongly believes that employees’ service in support of local communities, wildlife and the environment carried out either within their personal capacity or through bank-led programmes such as Cahaya Kasih Programme are important corporate goals and serve as an extension of Maybank’s broader sustainability agenda,” she added.
Cahaya Kasih is a programme within the bank which encourages its employees to come together as agents of change in making a positive and long-lasting impact to the surrounding communities.
Maybank said it is committed to achieving one million hours per annum on sustainability, and delivering one thousand significant sustainable development goal-related outcomes by 2025.
As at Sept 30, 2022, its employees had exceeded the annual target, with close to 1.09 million hours clocked on sustainability, the banking group said.
Some 56% of the total hours were spent on activities that directly contributed to the group’s long-term sustainability commitments.
These include working on sustainable solutions for customers, participating in community and employee programmes related to sustainability awareness, education and overall well-being.
Meanwhile, close to 43% of the total sustainability hours came from activities with indirect sustainability impacts, which includes initiatives that support and enhance the bank’s workforce, processes and infrastructure as part of its ongoing future-proofing exercise.
“The remaining hours came from employee-led sustainability activities such as recycling or social activities carried out in their personal capacity,” the statement noted.
Other commitments as part of its long-term sustainability ambitions include mobilising RM50bil in sustainable finance by 2025, improving the lives of one million households across Asean by 2025 and achieving a carbon-neutral position for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 as well as net-zero carbon equivalent position by 2050.
Maybank has exceeded its full-year targets for the other sustainability commitments, where as at Sept 30, 2022, it has mobilised RM14.9bil in sustainable finance, beating its financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22) target of RM9bil, according to the lender.
It said it has also improved over 296,000 lives across Asean, exceeding its FY22 target of 150,000 lives.
“Maybank has also reduced 41.1% of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions against its 2019 baseline versus its FY22 target of 40%,” it said.
