HSBC Bangladesh organised an online session titled ‘Transitioning to a circular economy with sustainable waste management’ for its stakeholders and corporate customers recently.
Sustainable Waste Management has become a major concern throughout the world today and as Asia’s leading bank for sustainable finance HSBC is focused on continuously supporting its customers in transitioning towards a circular economy and adopting best practices, according to a statement.
The discussion focused on innovative solutions and adopting the best practices from multi-sector across FMCG, building material, manufacturing, food etc. along with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and British High Commission Bangladesh.
Md Shahab Uddin, MP, Honourable Minister for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The session was also attended by Md Mahbub ur Rahman, chief executive officer, HSBC Bangladesh, Robert Chatterton Dickson, British High Commissioner, British High Commission Dhaka, as the special guest and Md Moniruzzaman, additional secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as Guest of Honour.
Wai-Shin Chan, Global Head of Climate Change, HSBC Global Research, presented the keynote on the topic. Kevin Green, Country Head of Wholesale Banking, HSBC Bangladesh, moderated the panel discussion with senior officials from Coca-Cola Bangladesh, Geocycle of LafargeHolcim, PRAN-RFL Group, British High Commission and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Speaking at the event, HSBC Bangladesh’s CEO Md Mahbub ur Rahman said, “In order to achieve a circular economy in Bangladesh, Sustainable Waste Management is a crucial factor. The outstanding efforts by both the government and the industry players in this area identifying innovative solutions and adopting best practices are commendable.”
During the event, British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson, said, “Businesses and the private sector play an essential role in the transformation towards a regenerative economy operating within planetary boundaries. The UK is a committed partner of Bangladesh in this important area, including through the new bilateral Climate and Environment Programme announced at COP 26. I congratulate HSBC for their initiative to support climate inclusive business models that maximise the benefits of using waste as a resource.”
Commenting on the event, a message was shared by Md Shahab Uddin, Environment, Forest and Climate Change minister.
“We need to consider innovative ways to treat waste, reuse recycle rather than simply dumping in to the nature. In order to transitioning to a circular economy with sustainable waste management, raising stakeholder awareness is important, and behavioural changes will be critical. Private sectors, multinational and national companies have responsibility for the waste from their products in market. I am drawing their attention to act jointly with the Local Government Division and other authorities to develop improved waste management as a shared responsibility,” the message reads.
To support customers transitioning to sustainable economy, HSBC Bangladesh has pioneered many sustainable financial solutions bringing it global expertise in the market such as Sustainability Linked Loan(SLL), Social Loan, etc. HSBC has a global ambition to contribute in sustainable financing and to support its customer switch to more sustainable ways of doing business and bring own financed emissions to net-zero by 2050 or earlier.
