KB Financial Group Publishes 'TCFD Report' Detailing Climate Change Response Strategies and Achievements

"Strengthening Roles and Responsibilities for a Successful Transition to a Sustainable Net-Zero Society"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 8th, KB Financial Group published the ‘2021 KB Financial Group TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) Report,’ which contains the group’s climate change response strategies and achievements.

KB Financial’s TCFD report is based on the four core areas of the ‘TCFD Recommendations’ (governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets) and details KB Financial’s climate change response achievements.

First, in the ‘Governance section,’ it emphasized the importance of a robust governance structure, including an organizational system that supports proper decision-making necessary for climate change response, and clear roles of the board of directors and management. KB Financial established the ESG Committee, composed entirely of directors, as the first domestic financial group to reflect diverse stakeholder perspectives on group-level ESG agendas including climate change and to enhance execution capability within the organization.

In the ‘Strategy section,’ climate change is described as a risk factor for corporate management but also a strategic opportunity that brings various changes across industries and creates new markets and businesses. By measuring carbon emissions by industry sector in the asset portfolio, KB Financial identified areas that financial companies need to focus on managing, and through alliances with various global initiatives such as ‘RE100,’ it shares the latest climate change information and advances its response strategies.

In the ‘Risk Management section,’ it explained that climate change risks can affect traditional risk factors, necessitating analysis and establishment of management systems. To this end, KB Financial established environmental and social risk management best practices to lay the foundation for integrated climate change risk management. Additionally, in the ‘Metrics and Targets section,’ it mentioned that managing measurable indicators is important to accurately understand the impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities. KB Financial was the first in the financial sector to receive approval for the ‘Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)’ for carbon reduction.

A KB Financial official stated, “We have voluntarily disclosed climate information through the TCFD report to join the global society’s efforts to prevent the rise of the Earth’s average temperature,” and added, “KB Financial will fulfill its role and responsibility as a leading financial group to solve the climate change crisis humanity faces and to successfully transition to a sustainable net-zero society.”