Case study: How KBank identifies and works on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

KBank adopts a comprehensive strategy for stakeholder identification by assessing the financial and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impacts of its business activities across the entire value chain. This analysis examines the influence of stakeholders on the bank’s operations and vice versa. Stakeholders identified include shareholders, the Board of Directors, employees, regulatory agencies, customers, business partners and counterparties, competitors, creditors, communities, the environment, and society. Insights gained from stakeholder engagement, especially their perspectives, highlight weather conditions as a significant material issue within the environmental domain.

To support sustainable development, KBank partners with various organizations through several key initiatives:

United Nations Global Compact (UNGC):
KBank is a member of UNGC, aligning its business practices with internationally recognized principles related to human rights, labor standards, environmental responsibility, and anti-corruption measures.

Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF):
As a signatory to PCAF, KBank helps develop standards for measuring and disclosing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its financed loans and investments.

ThaiCBN (Thailand Climate Business Network):
Initiated by KBank, ThaiCBN aims to foster collaboration among the private sector, government agencies, state-owned enterprises, financial institutions, and academia within Thailand. The network’s goal is to build a Climate Action Ecosystem by developing essential knowledge infrastructure, standards, and collaborative models that promote tangible and sustainable GHG reductions across all sectors in the country.

Major ThaiCBN initiatives in 2025 include:
• Launching a pilot project for converting food waste into Biomethane in Chiang Mai Province, involving participation mechanisms for users, collectors, and processors.
• Assisting SMEs across the supply chain to implement systematic GHG management through the development of an educational e-Handbook and by organizing the “Earth Jump” activities.

How did KBank identify and work on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts?

In its 2025 Sustainability Report KBank reports that it identified and worked on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts as follows:

While the business sector and many nations aim to achieve Net Zero and transition towards a society powered by renewable and clean energy, along with adopting technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the financial requirements to reach these targets continue to grow.

KBank has established its strategic priorities and introduced the “3+1 & Productivity Strategy” as its strategic framework. KBank’s focus is on revitalizing credit performance, expanding its capital-efficient fee-based income streams, and strengthening and innovating sales and service models to deliver value-driven outcomes.

Furthermore, the bank is committed to becoming a leader in ESG among Southeast Asian banks by guiding customers and businesses in Thailand towards an economic system that supports sustainable growth through ongoing and concrete actions to achieve the Net Zero goal. These initiatives include transforming KBank’s operations, helping customers develop capabilities and adapt to more environmentally friendly business practices, offering sustainable credit and investment products, and expanding services beyond traditional financial solutions to facilitate easier access to greener lifestyles.

A range of products designed to support these efforts is detailed in KBank’s Sustainability Report 2025 on pages 123 and 130.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

FBRH Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Assurance:

First class PRB assurance services: The result of solid, hands-on ESG/ Sustainability experience

• • • FBRH is a GRI Certified Training Partner (Global), ISEP Training Centre and a member of CPD.
    • FBRH builds trust. Over 200 reviews from top professionals from around the world demonstrate our ability to build strong, trusting business relationships.
    • FBRH possesses a unique skill set that combines ESG/sustainability certified training, experience in advisory services and report preparation, and ESG/sustainability report assurance.

The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by KBank, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.kasikornbank.com/en/sustainable-development/SDAnnualReports/y2025-sd-en.pdf

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