Sustainability Focus Area
The Group’s sustainability management revolves around six (6) pillars which represents the foundation of our
business success, growth and resilience. This ensures that sustainability considerations are embedded across our business from strategies through to operations.
Each pillar targets an overarching sustainability focus area. The six (6) pillars and their associated sustainability area is illustrated below:
Data Security, IT Infrastructure & Digital Transformation
Digitalisation of products, processes, delivery channels and operational support mechanisms have continued at pace to leverage developments in Information Technology (“IT”) and capitalise on the maturity of emerging technologies into applications that are more stable and affordable from a cost benefits standpoint. Our Digital Transformation has been critical in our efforts to compete in the financial services arena against more established players with larger franchises and strong legacies.
Excellent Ethics, Governance, Risk and Compliance
Ethics, governance, risk and compliance are constants in the financial services industry and, is taken as being embedded within the operations of every financial institution given the implicit trust placed on them by the public and government. AEON Credit is acutely aware of our responsibilities and accountabilities as a major financial services institution and places great importance in always conducting ourselves with integrity, being morally responsible and fully compliant with our statutory obligations.
Business Innovation, Responsible Marketing, Product & Service Design
Differentiation and competitive advantage in the financial services industry is driven to a significant extent by innovation. Accordingly, constant innovation is critical for the sustainability and expansion of the Group’s business. Innovation is also important for the Group to enlarge and protect our market share. As we innovate, AEON Credit is also conscious of our inherent duty of care to ensure that innovation is applied responsibly and ethically so that the spirit of integrity is infused into all our products and services whether new or existing.
Transperancy in Procurement Process
Procurement is an area where governance and control are imperative to ensure transparency and fair play. Appropriate and tight governance is also critical to protect the good name of AEON Credit to ensure the stakeholders continue to hold AEON Credit in high regard.
Excellent Customer Experience, Support & Access
Excellent customer experience plays a pivotal role in AEON Credit’s capacity to retain valued customers, expand customer base and attain market leadership. Customers’ expectations have become more exacting as they grow in sophistication, therefore, it is critical that AEON Credit remains intensely focused on providing value continually and enhancing our customers’ experience through our products, services and facilities.
Business Innovation, Responsible Marketing, Product & Service Design
Innovation is a competitive prerequisite in financial services. Given the growing significance of sustainability, this consideration is infused into our product innovation efforts, for instance Green Financing is a key initiative within AEON Credit’s Sustainability Roadmap, to this end we have developed a range of green, sustainable finance products that are expected to appeal to changing customer sentiments towards environmental protection and conservation. Initial offerings have been around financing of energy efficient appliances and air-conditioning systems which, given their lower electricity consumption, will have less environmental impact.
Excellent Customer Experience, Support & Access
Our Digital Transformation Programme has a specific focus on customers in line with our basic principle of placing our customers at the core, specifically to meet their changing demands, add value, and enhance the ease and effectiveness of interacting with AEON Credit. As noted above, we have widened our portfolio of products and services with targeted offerings to suit a variety of customer circumstances and needs, as well, there has been significant automation in back office processes to ease interactions across the product/service lifecycle.
Business Innovation, Responsible Marketing, Product & Service Design
Innovation is critical to business expansion, customer retention and to secure our economic sustainability. AEON Credit continually innovates to bring greater value and an enhanced experience to our customers. For example, plans to consolidate the offerings and services of various companies within the AEON Group under a single platform, the AEON Wallet, to leverage inherent synergies and provide access for customers to a widened range of products and services.
Sustainable Finance and Financial Performance
AEON Credit refined our lending direction to include the provision of sustainable finance in realisation of our commitment to contribute the efforts to address global warming. Sustainable Finance is a key initiative contained in our Sustainability Roadmap and is integral to AEON Credit playing our rightful role alongside the global fraternity to care for and protect the environment. Offering sustainable financing is also in keeping with our efforts to reinforce business sustainability and achieve continuous positive financial performance.
Employee Health, Safety & Well Being
AEON Credit is committed to caring for our employees and we take this responsibility, to maintain the high performance and delivery capabilities of our workforce. Healthcare benefits is an intrinsic part of our remuneration package which we constantly strive to improve in keeping with changes in the market and external circumstances. We are also acutely aware of the need to maintain workplace safety at high standards to provide our workforce with the security and confidence to continue delivering excellence free from distractions.
Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement Programmes
AEON Credit’s commitment to our workforce is enshrined in our Basic Principle on personnel. This Principle states our commitment to: “Creating a corporate environment in which human resources can be developed in a long term working relationship. Dealing with personnel based on ability and achievement regardless of nationality, age, gender or status. Our goal is to be recognised as the friendliest and people-oriented Group to work for”.
Strategic Community Investment
As AEON Credit creates value and pursue our economic objectives, we are acutely conscious of the need for us to display our humanity and give back to society to reciprocate their support and to show gratitude for the success we have been bestowed. Our annual budget invariably contains an allocation for community investment which we apply judiciously to reciprocate local communities for their support and to assist the vulnerable and less privileged to meet pressing needs or to pursue their aspirations. In our multi-cultural society we also make it a point to celebrate all major festivals together to foster close and enduring ties with the community. “Contributing to Local Communities” is part of our corporate philosophy and the spirit of philanthropy is engraved into our corporate DNA.
Environmental Management
AEON Credit acknowledges our duty for environmental care and protection and is committed to do our part to preserve it for future generations. We are conscientiously reducing our carbon footprint and implementing initiatives to manage our energy consumption to reduce emissions and have implemented greener practices and circular economy principles in our operations, as well, we encourage our workforce to adopt the same in their work and lifestyles.
Climate Action
AEON Credit acknowledges the urgency to mitigate climate change and protect the environment. We are committed to playing our part in solidarity with the global community in managing Green House Gases (GHG) emissions, as a result we have refined our lending direction to support the increased use and ubiquity of energy efficient appliances, modes of mobility as well as renewal energy generation facilities. Additionally, in common with many responsible corporate citizens globally we too, have a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality, our target timeline is 2030 which we will pursue relentlessly.