EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY
As the state bank with the widest reach across the island, our ambition is to be the market leader in sustainable financing, driving
financial inclusion and making sure all segments of the community have access to finance. While we pursue the above aspiration, we are
also taking conscious steps to transit to a carbon neutral entity by integrating sustainability into every aspect of our operations. During
the year, BoC remained steadfast in its commitment towards aligning its impact on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals
(UN SDGs) and taking holistic action towards addressing global challenges.
SUSTAINABILITY
FRAMEWORK
VISION:
To be the best sustainable
citizen of the country
Customers
Shareholder
and Fund
Providers
Business
Partners
Community
and
Environment
Employees
Regulators
Fundamentals
Governance
Reporting and disclosure
Economic Transformation
Sustainable Operations
Digital Progress
Strategy and performance
Stakeholder engagement
Focus areas
•
Value creation
to Shareholder
•
Liquidity and
robust capital
position
•
Innovation and
digitalisation
•
Distribution of
economic value
generated
•
Financial
inclusion
•
Transition to a
carbon neutral
entity
•
Environmental
stewardship
across all
business
operations
•
Protection of
ecosystems
•
Uplifting lives
•
Diversity,
inclusion and
equity
•
Positive
community
impacts
•
Board
competence,
diversity and
independence
•
Regulatory
compliance
•
Security and
data privacy
•
Sustainability
governance
and ethical
practices
Economic
Environmental
Governance
Social
Why we
are doing
this
Who we
are doing
this for
How we
aim to
achieve our
imperatives
Our
imperatives
Sustainability at BoC is integrated into the Bank’s strategy through our commitment to
drive economic, environmental, social and governance imperatives via the three pillars of
Economic Transformation, Digital Progress, and Sustainable Operations. As stakeholders place
increasing importance on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and regulations
continue to strengthen, BoC has sought to embed ESG considerations as an organisation-wide
discipline, underpinned by a holistic Sustainability Policy that sets out the Bank's sustainability
objectives, governance structures and reporting mechanisms.
SUSTAINABILITY GOVERNANCE
Please get more
details from
https://www.boc.
lk/sustainability-
framework
CAPACITY BUILDING
Bank of Ceylon continued to invest in
capacity building of its cadre, in line
with the Bank’s ESMS policy and guided
by the dedicated ESMS Unit under
BoC’s Independent Integrated Risk
Management Division (IIRMD). The Bank
carried out a number of activities in 2023
to educate and raise awareness amongst
staff; leveraging internal and external
resources and experts in the field to
train and build awareness and capacity
of employees from the highest tiers of
Corporate Management to the Bank’s
credit officers and relationship officers.
BoC is the first commercial Bank to
appoint ESG consultant for a holistic
ESG revitalisation of the Bank in ESG
strategy, ESG Risk Management and ESG
Reporting.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
BoC has collaborated with several
universities, environment organisations
and merchants, bringing together
different perspectives, expertise, and
resources needed to address complex
challenges and ensure that ESG
initiatives are aligned with stakeholder
expectations.
•
Marine Environment Protection
Authority (MEPA)
•
Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL)
•
The Open University of Sri Lanka
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
The Bank uses its Annual Integrated
Report and corporate website as
the primary means of responding to
stakeholder concerns and outlining
its sustainability strategy, including
materiality assessments and management
policies and processes. The data
measurement techniques, calculation
methodologies, assumptions and
estimations applied in the compilation
of the sustainability indicators contained
in this Report, are in accordance with
international reporting frameworks and
best practices and the GRI Standard
and includes external assurance of
ESG/Sustainability information.
The ensuing section provides details of
the Bank’s commitment to advancing
sustainability across its operations,
products and services in alignment
with the UN SDGs and other globally
recognised green banking principles.
Sustainability Committee
ESMS Approval Committee
ESMS Unit - CRO
ESMS Officer
Sustainable Banking Unit
Board of Directors
Economic
Transformation
Support customers/businesses to become
resilient and empowered through sustainable
financing.
Our commitment
KPIs
SDGs
Total Green Finances disbursed
in 2023
Amount disbursed in 2023 LKR 530.9 million
Balance as at 31.12.2023 LKR 5,028.6 million
Microfinancing granted for
women led businesses
30% of credit granted for women led businesses (31% 2022)
EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainable
Operations
Invest in the capabilities, wellbeing and diversity of our
people, reduce our impact on the natural environment and
operate a responsible and ethical business and supply chain.
Our commitment
KPIs
SDGs
Payment for Local
Suppliers
LKR 8.6 billion of payment disbursed for local suppliers
Investment in Community
Development
LKR 129.7 million (2022: LKR 60.1 million)
Investment in BoC Gammana
projects
LKR 5.4 million (2022: LKR 2.5 million)
Funding for BoC Mithuru
Micro credit group
LKR 77.9 million (2022: LKR 59.4 million)
WAY FORWARD
As we look to the future, we expect to
revamp our policies and update our
Sustainability Framework to provide
greater transparency and accountability.
Our sustainability agenda will be
given more prominence, with greater
measures being taken to deeply embed
our commitment within the BoC DNA.
Our leadership will adopt a meticulous
approach in executing the approved
initiatives and milestones specified in
the sustainability agenda. Once the
fundamentals are in place, they will
focus on rolling out the sustainability
programmes in the most efficient manner
to achieve and sustain the set targets.
While our Sustainability Roadmap is
being developed, we are mindful that
there will be a host of external challenges
which need to be considered. In order
to navigate through the complexities of
the marketplace, we will ensure that our
internal structure and capabilities across
the organisation are adequately resourced
and well-primed. This will help us to
address all risks and opportunities that
may come our way in a timely and effective
manner.
Moving forward, sustainability will
continue to serve as a core element of
our overall business strategy, informing
decision-making processes, investment
priorities, and resource allocation. We
intend to make the best use of our
existing sustainability initiatives and
practices while remaining open and
flexible to adopt new ones and remain
confident of reinforcing BoC’s position
as a model for responsible corporate
behaviour.
Digital Progress
Increase accessibility to our products and services,
while maintaining the highest security and
privacy standards.
Our commitment
KPIs
SDGs
Investment in digital
infrastructure
LKR 1.4 billion (2022: LKR 1.8 billion)
No of data breaches
Digital Transaction vs Counter
Transaction
Nil (2022 : Nil)