HNB wins Gold at Sustainability Reporting Awards

Hatton National Bank (HNB) won the Gold Award in the banking category at the 11th ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards recently. The ACCA Sustainability Reporting Award is also endorsed by the Ministry of Environment and Global Compact Network Ceylon.

The award was in recognition of HNB's sustainability reporting for 2013 and in evaluating the reports, the judges of the competition used completeness, credibility and clear communication as the criteria.

HNB Chief Human Resource Officer and AGM - HR, Mrs. Chiranthi Cooray said, "HNB has secured many awards in the past in the area of sustainability but this award is significant because it is in recognition of sustainability reporting."

"Our bank has a comprehensive sustainability strategy, an action plan and an agenda. This award is testament to the fact that we have not only excelled in our sustainability initiatives but also in our reporting of the initiatives," she said.

"To be recognised for sustainability reporting there needs to be a lot of disclosure. We disclose how our sustainability policy impacts and influences stakeholders, which include customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, the community and environment," Mrs Cooray said.

HNB has introduced an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), further demonstrating its commitment to sustainable business. An ESMS is a set of policies, procedures, tools and internal capacity to identify and manage a financial institution's exposure to the environmental and social risks of clients and investors, she said.