Case Studies

Australia

To help raise awareness of the recently-launched HSBC Climate Partnership and to promote reduction in office waste, 200 HSBC Climate Partnership branded mugs were given to employees in Sydney. Initial reactions were positive as more than 60 employees brought their mugs to a presentation by a WWF representative on how each individual can play a part.

China

In Beijing, HSBC China’s President and CEO, Richard Yorke participated in the WWF Annual Conference 2007, which was opened by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Speaking at a forum alongside the conference, Richard Yorke highlighted the importance of the HSBC Climate Partnership to China. He said: ‘This project will include an expanded stage of co-operation with WWF in promoting sustainability along the Yangtze. HSBC sees climate change as being one of the most important challenges of our age. It is absolutely essential that environmental issues are considered in all our activities in China.’

Singapore

Employees in Singapore conducted a clothes and books collection for charity and a collection of paper for recycling.

For the children of employees, there was a fun-filled and educational day with an environmental theme. There was a drama performance entitled ‘A Wetlands Adventure’ and a trip to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve where they planted mangrove tree saplings. The highlight of the day was the ‘World Environment Day Pledge Collection’, when the children visited HSBC’s offices to encourage people to commit to a conservation cause.

Bangladesh

HSBC employees in Bangladesh visited local schools to give presentations on environmental issues and the impacts of climate change in Bangladesh.

France

HSBC France held an environmental competition between its branches to encourage HSBC employees to reduce their electricity consumption at work and trial other environmental initiatives to reduce waste and business travel.

India

HSBC offices in Pune, India got involved in WED in a variety of ways:

• A WED-themed rangoli – traditional floor decoration – of bright greens, pinks and blues for reception;
• An environmental quiz for employees;
• An opportunity to watch Al Gore’s climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth in the office’s theatre;
• Free car emissions checks throughout the day;
• An office carpool between 5 and 12 June 2007;
• Hundreds of employees took part in a walkathon to encourage low-carbon travel.

Luxembourg

A competition was held to encourage employees to reflect on ways in which they could personally protect the environment. Participants received copies of The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook and winners were given DVD copies of Al Gore’s climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, 55 HSBC staff members participated in a beach litterclean-up campaign on Sandspit beach, in Karachi, to help protect the habitat of turtles nesting on the beach. The project, led by WWF Pakistan, enabled HSBC employees to release recently hatched turtles into the ocean.

UK

In HSBC’s global headquarters at Canary Wharf, London, there was a series of climate change talks and presentations with guest speakers from Earthwatch, Kew Gardens’ Millennium Seed Bank project, the Lea Rivers Trust and Trees for Cities. The catering in the building also went green for the day, providing organic teas and sandwiches, as well as Fairtrade juices, organic popcorn and organic chocolate.

HSBC’s Group Management Training Centre outside London held another open day (see WED 2006 below) fair, inviting local environmental organisations to raise awareness of climate change and related issues, followed by a day dedicated to 90 local school children to teach them about climate change and what they can do to help.

In Cardiff, HSBC employees took part in a Keep Wales Tidy river project by clearing dangerous debris along a local river and building an otter holt.

In Leeds, Yorkshire the intranet was turned 'arctic blue' for the day. Polar bears and penguins (First Direct employees in fancy dress) greeted everyone as they came into work handing out Glacier Mints, Penguin Biscuits and bookmarks to raise awareness.

Bermuda

HSBC Bank of Bermuda launched a paper-saving programme on WED and was paper-free for the day. The bank’s customers were given reusable shopping bags containing tips on how to tackle climate change.

Brazil

HSBC in Brazil promoted an environmental fair in Curitiba, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on its internal TV station, HSBCTV, motivating more than 1,000 employees to go to or actively participate in the fair.

More than 600 employees and their families also attended a special evening screening of Al Gore’s climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth.

USA

In New York City, an estimated 4,000 volunteers worked on 89 HSBC-sponsored park sites in need of environmental revitalisation.

WWF gave presentations in five US cities – New York City and Buffalo, New York; Las Vegas, Nevada; Prospect Heights, Illinois; and Salinas, California – on how HSBC staff can reduce their environmental impacts at home and work.

In 2006, the World Environment Day theme was 'Deserts and Desertification'. HSBC sites in 18 countries and territories around the globe took part.

UK

In Canary Wharf, London, a new recycling scheme was introduced to reduce office waste. Read more about this scheme in the Our Commitment section. Also in Canary Wharf, Dyfrig John, Director and Chief Executive, HSBC Bank plc, gave a briefing to his senior management team discussing the importance of environmentally-friendly business. There was a video presentation by Group Chairman Stephen Green and information on many of the HSBC Group's worldwide environmental initiatives. Around 2,000 environmental awareness packs were handed out throughout the day and there were displays by sustainable retailers.

At the Group's training centre just outside London, 40 exhibitors displayed environmentally-friendly products, services, and messages for staff and the community. The centre is a main testing site for HSBC's research into environmentally-friendly innovations. There were also presentations by the Earthwatch Institute, Building Research Establishment, and Fuel Cell Markets (who assist with the commercialisation of fuel cell, hydrogen, and sustainable energy technologies), and three guided nature walks. One of the most unique displays was the fuel cell bus, one of only 27 operating in Europe. Children were allowed to ride on it and all were able to learn about how the bus works and how it protects the environment.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, bank staff and officials from the Ministry of Environment took part in a tree planting ceremony at HSBC's Global Service Centre in Colombo. Elsewhere, the rest of the staff in Colombo, more than 1,000 HSBC employees, together with 120 students from local schools, took part in a Walkathon. Along the route, volunteers distributed leaflets to the public with environmental messages.

Group Purchasing

The Group's purchasing department made a difference to its community by planting oak, mountain ash and cherry trees at its offices in Sheffield in the UK, while in HSBC North America, Colorado blue spruce seedlings or seeds from an unusual sunflower species were given away in return for a small donation. You could also request that they be planted on your behalf. Hyderabad, India also got into tree planting with 50 saplings at a local plantation.

India

In Bangalore, World Environment Day was celebrated by staff with a visit to the Bannerghatta zoo – not a pleasure trip but a trip with a purpose. A team of 270 employees spread awareness among the visitors at the zoo by cleaning up the entire zoo; they also helped to enlighten visitors about sensible rubbish disposal and the hazards of using plastic. Staff members spoke personally to the visitors and distributed pamphlets on ways of conserving the environment.

GSC (Group Service Centre) Kolkata celebrated World Environment Day by creating a commercially-viable vegetable garden and a nursery for a community school run by a non-governmental organisation (Society for Community Intervention and Research) in one of the largest slum areas of Kolkata.

Starting in May, volunteers spent every weekend on the huge task of clearing the rubbish and the rubble and digging over the land before laying and levelling fresh soil for proper cultivation. The entire project, which covers about 230 square metres (2,500 square feet) of land, was completed in August 2006.

On WED, the volunteers planted saplings of margosa, lemon and other herbal plants at the school premises. The children of the school were then taught about the relevance of the garden by their teacher.

HSBC employees in Vizag, India made a difference to one of their favourite parts of the local environment – the beach. Hundreds of staff members were joined by their families to clear the three kilometre (two mile) stretch of beach of 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of rubbish, collecting items in wicker baskets rather than plastic bags, in keeping with the environmentally-friendly spirit of the day.

Dubai

Dubai staff also took advantage of their proximity to the ocean to learn about endangered habitats and species through a diving awareness trip where divers were allowed to visit the Dibba Marine Protection Area on the UAE East Coast. There was also an internal quiz, a car share campaign, and an external advertising campaign to bring in the local community.

China

Teamwork in Guangzhou, China saw HSBC staff involved in the community as well as taking personal responsibility for their actions. Outside, they got out into the streets to clean up and then donated their tools to the Dong Feng Hygiene Unit. In the office, staff members were asked not to use plastic cups or bags and to take public transport to work. Anyone who did not comply was fined RMB2 (US$0.25) which was then donated to an environmental charity.

Malaysia

The GSC (Group Service Centre) in Malaysia was transformed into a lively jungle, with various live plants set up as the backdrop, to raise awareness among staff members of endangered species and the support needed for their natural habitats. Employees came dressed in green to show their support of the environment. The guests of honour on the day, who received an overwhelming response from all in the centre, were an extremely mischievous Macaque monkey, a four foot (1.2 metre) long iguana and an albino Burmese python – examples of creatures who live in the Belum Temenggor Forest.