14 KENANGA INVESTMENT BANK BERHAD SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023 ABOUT THIS REPORT WE ARE KENANGA LEADERSHIP STATEMENTS SUSTAINABILITY AT KENANGA Q&A WITH OUR GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHAIRMAN, GROUP SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE In light of current environmental concerns, would you be able to provide an overview of climate actions that the company is pursuing? In 2023, global temperatures reached unprecedented levels, marking it as the hottest year on record, and highlighting evidence of global warming and changing weather patterns. Mounting scientific consensus of climate change, compounded with the escalating frequency of climate emergencies has reinforced the imperative for businesses such as ours to address the associated risks, as well as taking the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a sustainable future. At Kenanga, while we have aligned our long-term environmental commitment with our national goal of achieving net zero by 2050, our immediate focus has been to prioritise the reduction of our enterprise GHG emission. Over the last two (2) years, we have been collaborating with a Malaysian-based climate tech company to mitigate our environmental footprint, starting with the most energy intensive area – our heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. We have overhauled our systems with an AI-powered predictive cooling control solutions, as well as switched out conventional lightings to energy-saving lighting options. Our gradual and practical steps led to reduction in overall energy consumption in 2022 at Kenanga Tower. This achievement, attributable to the system upgrades initiated in 2021, which earned us the prestigious title of ‘Energy-Efficient Retrofitted Building’ at the National Energy Awards 2023, presented by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change. Q3 What would you say are the highlights of Kenanga’s progress on the “Social” and “Governance” dimensions? By virtue of the fact we operate in a highly regulated environment, governed by all three (3) regulatory bodies – Bank Negara Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commission – we naturally uphold a high corporate governance standard. We take great pride in going above and beyond regulatory compliance, especially through our industry leadership role in rallying fraud awareness. We cover the many facets of ‘Social’ in our Sustainability Report, but it is worth noting that our priorities include maintaining a gender-balanced workforce. This year, we became a signatory to the United Nations Women Empowerment Principles, further committing to gender empowerment agenda not just at the workplace, but also the marketplace and community. Our long-standing support towards social enterprises, Silent Teddies Bakery and Dialogue Includes All Academy, continues to be front and centre for us. It has been a privilege to be part of their growth story, and to know we have played a part in empowering the differently abled and marginalised in a meaningful manner that promotes a sense of pride and unlocks self-reliance and enterprising spirit. Q4 Having charted good progress in the last few years, what are some of the focus areas in the coming year? In this coming year, amongst the various priorities include strengthening and harmonising of our responsible investing approach across the Group by aligning it to regulatory expectations, and industry best practices. In the same breath, we will also delve into the technical aspects of computing our Scope 3 emissions, particularly focusing on emissions resulting from our investment activities – the area where, as a financial institution, we have the most impact. One thing to be mindful of as we progress forward, is the rise of greenwashing allegations, which is why ensuring transparency, clarity and integrity of our commitments, disclosures and communications remains paramount. Q5
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