Building a better tomorrow for all, together
CORPORATE giving is not merely a responsibility, it is a strategic imperative of our corporate purpose journey.
Our business sustainability thrives on the society’s prosperity. When we invest our “time, talents, and treasures” in our communities, we unlock untapped potential that will help drive economic growth.
Having operated in Singapore for more than 160 years, Standard Chartered remains committed to leveraging our resources, partnerships, and employee volunteers to create positive community impact that resonates with our brand promise – Here for Good.
As the first bank to be accorded the enhanced Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank privileges by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, our community impact strategy focuses on supporting charities and causes that are locally relevant and impactful.
We design our community programmes to ensure they contribute to the national agenda such as the Forward Singapore social compact, which includes building an inclusive and equitable future.
An example would be our Silver Lining initiative. Unique to Singapore, it is our community initiative to adapt to an ageing society and seek ways to create new meaning in seniors’ lives, especially post-retirement. Since 2012, we have been working with various community partners to run programmes that improve the health, lifestyle and environment of seniors and promote active ageing.
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As the world continues to evolve digitally, we also strive to address the digital divide faced by vulnerable groups. Besides joining hands with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to help them acquire digital skills, we also contributed S$2 million, inclusive of dollar-for-dollar matching by the government, to the Digital for Life (DfL) Fund, which goes towards supporting activities to help Singaporeans access digital and keep pace with technological transformation.
Empowering young women to seize new opportunities
The digital divide is just one of societal gaps we are addressing in our community. Another area is to lift participation through promoting financial access and economic inclusion for women. In line with our global community initiative, Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, this is one of our priorities where we focus our efforts in uplifting the future generation to learn, earn and grow.
I am heartened that we made good progress this year towards empowering girls and young women, albeit there remains much more to be done. Together with SG Her Empowerment (SHE), a non-profit organisation that champions empowering girls and women, we launched the “Sneak Peek” Futuremakers programme by Standard Chartered, where companies in Singapore gave more than 200 underprivileged girls aged 15-21 the opportunity to gain exposure and cultural capital through learning visits and experience.
In another partnership with Singapore Management University’s Lien Centre for Social Innovation, we ran our first Women in Entrepreneurship (WiE) programme that provides mentorship, networking opportunities and seed funding to female-led businesses that create social impact and support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Colleagues were furthered involved in WiE by volunteering as mentors to guide budding female entrepreneurs in the programme.
In addition, our colleagues have been supportive of this cause, having spent some 360 hours volunteering at New2U Thrift Shop, an initiative of the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations.
Engaging employees through volunteerism
Our employees are the cornerstone of our corporate giving efforts. The bank gives three days of volunteering leave to each employee annually. In 2023, over 4,500 of our Singapore-based employees volunteered at least once to support various community causes, including environment, women empowerment, as well as children and youth, as part of our endeavour to promote greater social inclusion and create a better community for all.
Promoting volunteerism helps with enhancing employee engagement and satisfaction. Colleagues, especially the younger generation, increasingly want to know that they are working for a responsible company whose values are aligned with theirs. The informal setting of volunteering events also helps to foster team bonding, as well as for colleagues from different departments to interact. I am also especially proud of those who have grown to become team leaders or even event organisers.
Jane Tan is an example among many others. She started as a volunteer with Food from the Heart, and is now our volunteer champion leading the monthly packing and distribution exercise for bank-wide colleagues.
Celebrating our collective success
This year, we have been honoured with numerous awards recognising our commitment to corporate giving and our strides in fostering Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).
From being the first bank in Singapore to receive the Asean Outstanding Social Welfare and Development Award by Asean Secretariat, and the Charity Platinum Award by Community Chest, to being named D&I Champion of the Year by the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore for the second consecutive year. These accolades are a collective tribute to all our employees, clients and partners.
Looking ahead to 2024
As we move forward, I invite everyone to join us on this corporate purpose journey, where every action, every effort and every individual counts.
We believe in the power of collaboration. In the next phase of our Futuremakers strategy, we will work closely with like-minded strategic partners to drive programmes focusing on empowering young women to gain skills and sustainable employment, while supporting entrepreneurships to build thriving micro-businesses.
I am also excited to share that Team Standard Chartered will be back at the Fu Dai event next year. This marks our 11th year of partnering with Community Chest and Heartwarmers to bring festive cheers to the less fortunate, and exemplifies our community-minded approach to making positive impact. At the same time, we will continue to weave active volunteerism into our organisational fabric and harness our employees’ talents and desire for doing good by our society.
Put simply, at Standard Chartered, supporting our community is not just a philanthropic endeavour, it is an investment for a more inclusive and equitable tomorrow.
The writer is Cluster CEO, Singapore & Asean Markets, Standard Chartered Bank
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