Sustainability
Supplier Sustainability
Building a strong and reliable supply chain is fundamental to sustainable operations, which is one of the key components of DBS’ overall sustainability framework. Sustainable procurement practices will help businesses to reduce waste, contribute to decent working conditions and enable economic growth.
Read about DBS Sustainability - Responsible Business Practices
We recognise that the actions of our suppliers contribute to the bank’s sustainability performance and that we can influence and partner with them for mutual improvements. As a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets, we purchase a diverse range of products and services with the bulk being professional services, software, real estate and corporate services. Engaging with our suppliers may also carry financial, legal and reputation risks. As such, we are cognisant that when we make procurement decisions, we must also consider environmental and social matters alongside financial factors.
Read about DBS Sustainable Sourcing Principles
Decarbonising Spend
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. We believe that aligning our supply chain carbon emissions to a 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway, through our procurement practices, is both a big responsibility and opportunity.
To that end, we have developed a masterplan where we will progressively engage with key suppliers and collaborate on decarbonising DBS’ spend over the long term.
In 2023, we introduced ESG parameters such as suppliers’ commitment to sustainability and efforts to drive decarbonisation in our supplier selection process.
We are continually refining these criteria to find the optimal balance, providing additional incentives for our suppliers to accelerate their sustainability performance and decarbonisation efforts.
Supplier Development
We believe in growing together with our suppliers, especially with regards to our sustainability journey. Since 2020, we have supported the learning journey of suppliers regionally by conducting training on topics including sustainable operations, circular procurement and life cycle analysis.
We will continue our approach of engaging and training suppliers to adapt to the market’s evolving sustainability requirements.
Restorative Procurement
Since 2021, the Restorative Procurement Framework has guided our partnerships with suppliers, as we work towards building a restorative enterprise. The Framework brings together various sustainability aspects – circularity, carbon, biodiversity, and the broader social agenda. We integrate these restorative principles directly into our procurement processes, including our SSP and approach to screening, prioritising, assessing and engaging our suppliers. This promotes not only “doing less harm“ but also “doing more good“ across our supply chain.
We believe that in the longer term, Restorative Procurement will scale further in DBS and become a key driving force in making DBS a restorative enterprise.
Awareness and Networking
DBS believes that working together is key to building a better world.
DBS organises internal and industry procurement events from time to time. Please contact us if you are interested in a speaking opportunity for upcoming events.
National Sustainable Procurement Roundtable
DBS is a founding member and the Secretariat of the National Sustainable Procurement Roundtable (NSPR). This is an industry-led workgroup that promotes sustainable procurement. The NSPR projects led by DBS includes
- SG Sustainable Procurement Forum
- A Supplier’s Guide to Sustainability
- Circular Procurement Playbook
- Sustainable Gifts and Premiums