Banks Supporting ESG Management for Small and Medium Enterprises

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Banks are introducing various support measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) establish ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management.

According to the financial sector on the 8th, IBK Industrial Bank recently launched the IBK ESG Self-Diagnosis Tool to raise awareness and spread ESG among SMEs that find it difficult to adopt ESG management.

The IBK ESG Self-Diagnosis Tool is characterized by being accessible via mobile for convenience, differentiated diagnosis through SME-specialized indicators, and clearly showing the diagnosis results of the company's ESG management level.

The service is available to all small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies, with self-diagnosis conducted based on comprehensive ESG, category-specific ratings, and issue-specific diagnosis. The results provide individual companies with ESG management points and improvement directions, expected to act as a catalyst for SMEs' transition to ESG management.

Access to the ESG self-diagnosis system is available through banners on IBK's corporate internet banking and mobile banking i-ONE Bank (corporate), and the self-diagnosis service can be easily used by simply registering business site information.

IBK plans to do its best to establish ESG management systems for SMEs through step-by-step ESG consulting, including ESG education, detailed ESG diagnosis, and advanced consulting.

KB Kookmin Bank recently launched the 'KB ESG Consulting Service' for small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies.

The KB ESG Consulting Service is a free tailored solution that supports companies struggling with ESG management by improving non-financial factors to help them grow into sustainable businesses. KB Kookmin Bank established an ESG consulting team in January to promote mutual growth with SMEs. It has also completed preparations for providing high-quality consulting, including hiring experts, training consulting personnel, and developing consulting diagnostic items.

The KB ESG Consulting Service is offered in two areas: ESG management diagnosis and ESG management consultation. The ESG management diagnosis uses ESG diagnostic items developed by KB Kookmin Bank to assess companies' non-financial factors and provides improvements and solutions through on-site visits. The ESG management consultation program offers ESG education for SME employees and information on ESG issues and cases.

Since April, KB Kookmin Bank has also been providing the 'KB ESG Self-Diagnosis Service,' allowing SMEs and mid-sized companies to receive free ESG evaluations. This service enables companies to get ESG evaluations through corporate internet banking without submitting documents and to check result reports composed of E, S, and G categories. Selected ESG excellent companies through the KB ESG Self-Diagnosis Service receive various benefits such as preferential interest rates.

A KB Kookmin Bank official said, "As most companies, including global firms and large corporations, are strengthening ESG risk management for their partners, ESG is not an option but a necessity for SMEs," adding, "We will actively support SMEs to systematically promote ESG management by providing various ESG products and services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.