OCBC Bank to incorporate MGTC’S LCOS into transition financing plan

KUALA LUMPUR: OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) is set to become the first financial institution in the country to formulate specific plans to help businesses decarbonise their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation’s (MGTC) online carbon management platform.

In a joint statement today, OCBC Bank and MGTC said they have inked an agreement to incorporate the agency’s Low Carbon Operating System (LCOS) into the bank’s transition financing plan for corporate and small and medium enterprise (SME) customers.

"The platform will guide them (the customers) to improve efficiency, reduce wastage in their business activities and ultimately achieve long-term cost savings,” the statement said.

LCOS helps businesses measure their carbon footprint to ensure emissions are well managed.

Using a report that LCOS generates, companies could take impactful action to mitigate the amount of carbon their operations produce, it said.

"OCBC Bank looks forward to working with corporates and SMEs in the collective national quest to achieve net zero GHG emissions as early as 2050,” OCBC Bank chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Chor Sen said at the signing ceremony.

The OCBC Group has set a sustainable financing target of S$50 billion (S$1=RM3.31) by 2025.

Meanwhile, MGTC CEO Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor said that as the first step in crafting a meaningful environmental, social and governance (ESG) journey, companies can use LCOS to understand and measure the environmental footprint and set realistic sustainability targets.

"The financial sector holds enormous power in funding and accelerating the global transition to a low-carbon economy. They can offer services or direct capital flows to projects with meaningful social and environmental impacts, motivating others to improve their sustainability performance.

"We hope this collaboration will help OCBC Bank’s customers achieve their financial goals and aspirations to contribute to a more sustainable world,” he added.

For more information on LCOS, visit mgtc.gov.my/lcos/. - Bernama