Better Health for All
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HSBC Life's Well+ proposition has driven significant preventative health engagement, with customers completing over 235 billion steps and 271 million workout minutes since its 2022 launch.
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The company also offers a 1% discount on insurance charges for health improvements and non-smoker policy charges in Singapore.
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For mental health, HSBC Life UK introduced new underwriting rules for mental illness disclosures, making cover more accessible.
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The HSBC Malta Foundation supports the 24/7 Mental Health Helpline 1579, offering free, confidential emotional support.
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Internally, over 200,000 employees participated in mental health awareness training in 2023, and global access to telephone counseling and the Headspace app saw usage increases of 3% and 28% respectively in 2022.
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HSBC Life in the UK, in 2022, enabled underwriting of HIV-positive customers no differently than other controlled medical conditions.
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Regarding data, HSBC employs appropriate measures to safeguard and control access to data, embeds privacy into design, and vets third-party protections.
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In nutrition and food safety, HSBC implemented the Eat Well Live Well programme across 100% of its catered sites in 2024, with healthy food sales reaching 32% and plant-based dishes over 10% of all dishes sold globally.
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For healthcare education, HSBC Life launched critical illness product videos and an “HSBC Life Talk” platform.
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Financial literacy education has benefited nearly 3,000 children, parents, and community workers in 21 communities across 10 cities since October 2022.
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Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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The provided articles describe several initiatives by HSBC related to economic opportunity and financial inclusion, such as a $25 million partnership with NCRC for low- and moderate-income communities
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, a $1 billion Female Entrepreneur Fund
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, and grants totaling $800,000 to support minority, women, and immigrant-owned businesses
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. HSBC also offers community banking services for vulnerable groups in Hong Kong across over 30 branches by 2021
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and a simplified mobile banking app for seniors with over 477,000 users
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. Additionally, the bank has expanded its financial literacy programs by launching a module for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in the UK
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. However, the articles do not provide specific, quantifiable data points required by the rubric, such as percentages of total customers from underserved segments, average APRs or fee multiples, revenue from high-cost products, share of the total loan book dedicated to inclusion, specific data portability features, regulatory findings, wealth-building outcomes, percentage of profits reinvested, reach or outcomes of financial literacy programs, average debt-to-income ratios, or the percentage of service points in underserved geographic areas. Consequently, no KPIs can be scored based on the available evidence.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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HSBC was certified as a global Living Wage employer by the Fair Wage Network in 2024, indicating that fixed pay levels are sufficient to provide financial security for employees.
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The CEO to median employee pay ratio was 169:1 for the 2023 financial year.
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In 2024, the UK median gender pay gap was 46.7%, meaning women earned 53.3% of men's pay.
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The employee engagement index was 80 in 2024.
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Voluntary employee turnover was 8.1% in 2024.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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By the end of 2024, 96.7% of approximately 10,400 contracted suppliers had either confirmed adherence to HSBC's Supplier Code of Conduct or provided an accepted alternative.
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The Supplier Code of Conduct mandates suppliers to prohibit child and forced labor, provide fair and equal compensation, ensure safe working conditions, and have due diligence procedures for human rights.
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HSBC reserves the right to conduct on-site or online audits of suppliers for adherence to this Code and undertakes Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) supplier audits.
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The company also operates a Supplier Diversity Portal to connect small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs) or businesses majority-owned by historically underrepresented groups with procurement opportunities.
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Honest & Fair Business
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HSBC received a significant ethics-related regulatory fine of $1.9 billion in August 2023 from the U.S. Department of Justice for facilitating money laundering transactions.
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The company operates a global whistleblowing channel, "HSBC Confidential," which enables confidential and anonymous reporting via an independent third party, offering 24/7 hotlines and a web portal in multiple languages.
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The Group Audit Committee oversees these arrangements, with its Chair serving as the Whistleblowers’ Champion, and HSBC maintains a zero-tolerance policy for retaliation.
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In 2024, 1,527 concerns were raised through this channel, with a 35% substantiation rate.
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Furthermore, HSBC has a global anti-bribery and corruption policy with a zero-tolerance approach, prohibiting improper payments by all personnel and third parties, and subjecting customers and third parties to risk assessments.
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Mandatory financial crime training is provided to all employees.
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In 2024, an HSBC subsidiary in China self-reported bribery offenses by two former employees who were subsequently convicted.
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In 2023, no concluded legal cases regarding bribery or corruption were against HSBC or its employees.
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Kind to Animals
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HSBC provided a six-figure sum to Madox Farm, which was exposed for extreme animal welfare violations, including employees striking and kicking cows and neglecting veterinary care.
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The farm used these funds to build a 9,600-square-foot facility and increase its herd to over 650 cows.
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In mid-2021, HSBC launched a £1.2 billion fund for the agricultural sector, which includes animal farming.
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Regarding animal testing, HSBC's policy does not cover the testing of chemicals on animals, and it received a 0% rating for animal testing in a 2024 assessment.
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The company does not incorporate any mention of animal welfare in its policies
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and lacks explicit animal welfare policies.
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Consequently, HSBC has no public position on animal welfare legislation and is silent on industry standards.
No War, No Weapons
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HSBC's publicly stated policy since 2000 to avoid financing weapons manufacturers, and its Defence Equipment Sector Policy, are loophole-ridden by defining weapons companies restrictively and including caveats to honor existing commitments.
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This is evidenced by no significant downward trend in its lending to the arms sector since 2000
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, and the company operating in direct violation of its stated policy.
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HSBC's ethical red lines ban financial services to companies involved in cluster munitions and its asset management portfolios avoid exposure to cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines.
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However, public records show ongoing links to controversial weapons, including holding shares in manufacturers of cluster munitions and depleted uranium.
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Between January 2022 and August 2024, HSBC had financial involvements totaling approximately $3.5 billion with companies involved in the nuclear weapons industry.
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The company provided financial services to a Libyan engineer with ties to Muammar Gadhafi for alleged arms imports
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and maintained accounts for clients linked to arms trafficking in African countries in 2006-2007.
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Despite being a signatory to the UN Global Compact
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and having a Human Rights Statement
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, HSBC was identified as a “laggard” in 2016 regarding human rights standards
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, and its involvement in arms financing has been cited as a violation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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Planet-Friendly Business
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HSBC's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions (categories 1, 2, 6) for 2024 were 1,226,693 tCO2e
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, representing a 5.5% reduction compared to 2023
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. The company sourced 75.4% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2024
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, aiming for 100% by 2030
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. Its waste diversion rate was 50% in 2024
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. HSBC fully implements TCFD recommendations
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and conducted a comprehensive climate scenario analysis in 2024
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, assessing five distinct scenarios across multiple time horizons
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. Approximately 49% of its annual water consumption in 2024 came from areas with high and very high water stress
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. However, HSBC's net-zero target for financed emissions is 2050
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, and its interim targets for financed emissions are still under review
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. The company's initial targets were not aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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HSBC has over 50 formal partnerships with local community groups through its Climate Solutions Partnership, alongside numerous other collaborations including with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
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The company applies the Equator Principles, which are underpinned by the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standards on Indigenous Peoples and communities, to assess project risks.
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A global whistleblowing platform, HSBC Confidential, is available to all stakeholders and customers in multiple languages.
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HSBC established a policy in 2014 to avoid financing projects threatening World Heritage Sites and Ramsar Wetlands, and its Foundation supports the Palace Museum in Beijing.
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There are no reported cultural appropriation incidents.
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While ESG updates are published in Traditional and Simplified Chinese,
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and diversity training is provided,
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there is no specific language inclusivity score or cultural sensitivity training completion rate. The company has faced reactive responses to cultural incidents, with indigenous leaders confronting HSBC and the UK government in 2024 regarding oil project financing
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and expressing frustration at the bank's awareness.
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Charitable giving lacks a specific cultural heritage focus.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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HSBC Bank plc was fined £63.9 million by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority in December 2021 for anti-money laundering transaction monitoring deficiencies over an eight-year period.
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In September 2024, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority ordered HSBC to conduct an independent review of its data handling and risk management in commercial banking due to prior regulatory concerns.
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Consumers have the right to limit some sharing of personal information, specifically for affiliates' creditworthiness and marketing, but not all sharing.
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HSBC has established Principles for the Ethical Use of Data and AI (latest version July 2024), integrates governance throughout its AI workflows, and ensures projects are ethical from initial data ingest to deployment.
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,
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The company also introduces AI literacy and ambassador programs, tests and monitors AI systems before deployment and on an ongoing basis, and embeds privacy considerations into design and approval processes.
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,
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HSBC works to identify and consider the impact on groups adversely affected by data and AI use, monitoring AI for unintended consequences.
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There are no documented data breaches within the past three years.
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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HSBC recycled 50% of its total waste in 2024.
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The company issues payment cards made from 85% recycled plastic (rPVC)
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and plans to eliminate single-use PVC plastic payment cards by the end of 2026.
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This transition to rPVC-based cards is expected to reduce plastic waste by 73 tonnes
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and CO2 emissions by 161 tonnes
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annually, based on 23 million cards issued per year.
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HSBC also promotes digital banking and e-statements as waste reduction initiatives.
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The rPVC cards have a durability and expiry date of 5 years, matching the industry standard for conventional PVC cards.
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The company reported no waste disposal violations in the past three years. Furthermore, HSBC's Supplier Code of Conduct sets minimum environmental standards for its suppliers, requiring them to implement environmental policies to reduce their impacts.
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