DBS transforms into a restorative enterprise and bags CIPS Best Sustainability Project of the Year
DBS Bank - Best Sustainability Project of the Year Winner
Sustainability has risen to the top of the agenda in recent years and for good reason. Economies and businesses must grow for people to prosper but not at the expense of the environment, or society at large. The Best Sustainability Project of the Year Award recognises the important role business leaders in Asia have in creating a prosperous future that benefits society and protects our planet by looking at the social, environmental and responsible procurement projects that accelerate sustainable outcomes and achieve sustainable goals.
This year’s winner DBS has continued to expand its sustainable operations and procurement by creating a framework that builds a restorative enterprise through supplier partnerships.
Kai Ling Phui, Executive Director and Head of Procurement at DBS Bank and her team created a ‘Restorative Procurement framework’ that integrates sustainability aspects such as circularity, carbon reduction, biodiversity and social agenda and reflects their ‘Doing More Good, not just Less Harm’ ethos.
The Project: The DBS’ procurement department drives sustainable and operational transformations across the business through its ‘Restorative Procurement’ framework. As one of DBS’ most important strategic agendas - sustainability has been instrumental in making DBS a world-class restorative organisation, driven by the procurement function initiatives led by Kai Ling Phui and her team.
How did they achieve this?
DBS delivered 25 regional sourcing projects including high-impact partnerships such as the electrification of the cash and valuables fleet and the launch of eco-friendly credit cards.
“Where possible, every dollar we spend will create a positive impact on the environment, communities, and individuals.”
- Kai Ling Phui, Executive Director and Head of Procurement at DBS Bank
DBS implemented a Restorative Procurement framework that awards sourcing teams and contract owners with points based on the following factors:
Keeping things simple: Supplier solutions and impact measurement can sometimes be extremely technical and complex. DBS chose a points system and incorporated into our scorecard to track impact and outcome. The higher the impact, the more points awarded.
Integrated approach: Their holistic framework comprises four sustainability themes: circular economy, decarbonisation, biodiversity protection, and social agenda.
Impact Counts: We reinforced our responsible consumption message whenever possible – the best course of action is to simply not make a purchase. However, if there is a need to buy, we should strive to be environmentally friendly and financially prudent.
Shades of Green: We incentivised efforts on innovation and impact, while continuing to celebrate quick wins.
Modularity: Their framework allows them to broaden their scope by adding modules, or tweaking the depth or granularity as they deliver more sustainable outcomes.
Measuring Success: DBS set a ‘40 restorative procurement points’ KPI in our scorecard that is cascaded to sourcing teams across DBS’ core locations, with the intention of raising the bar as we progress to position the programme as a department priority, requiring individuals to make contributions towards Group’s success.
Management support: At every opportunity, DBS embedded their framework at various management forums in order to incorporate feedback, identify new areas of collaboration and increase the general visibility of the programme and Group Procurement as a department.
Awareness and skills: DBS increased awareness by inviting speakers to cover sustainability themes: Biodiversity, Carbon and Social Agenda at internal webinars, which were attended by 500 employees.
Risks: Kai Ling Phui raised awareness of risks such as greenwashing to mitigate risks by leveraging technical resources they had invested in.
Watch: CIPS Asia Excellence in Procurement Awards 2022: DBS Bank - Best Sustainability Project Winner
Learnings: Restorative Procurement defines how DBS procure goods and services. In alignment with their aspirations to transform DBS into a restorative enterprise via the procurement function, Kai Ling Phui and her team will accelerate their efforts, committing to deliver at least 50 points for 2022.
They have curated a series of case studies and resources via an intranet portal, where employees can access and learn how to adopt the notion of ‘Doing More Good, not just Less Harm’.
Within the regional procurement department, more teams are sharing how they go about delivering sustainable outcomes and they have proven sustainability efforts provide significant value to DBS, shareholders, and our customers.
Their common framework provides the necessary foundations to create meaningful change.