Employee engagement or employee volunteering is an integral part of HSBC India's Corporate Sustainability (CS) strategy.

We have made a long-term commitment to funding the communities we serve by facilitating education, financial inclusion and for protecting the environment in which we do business.

Our programmes in partnership with NGOs have reached out to thousands of underprivileged children, youth and women across India. Employees over the years have made significant contribution by volunteering with our NGO partners in HSBC supported sustainability programmes. Be it through mentoring children and youth, participating in environment awareness programmes, tree plantation drives, research work in forests on climate change, or providing their expertise and skills to build capacity of the NGOs or direct impact projects at their respective workplaces like reduction of paper usage, disowning use of paper and plastic cups, efficiency in use of energy and water, the employees have been at the very forefront of all our CS initiatives.

The volunteering hours clocked over the years (from 16,575 hours in 2006 to 43,109 hours in 2010) only demonstrates the fact that employee engagement is part of HSBC’s DNA. Volunteering is in fact a unique tool. While much is spoken about the benefits of volunteering and the impact on the communities, it is as much beneficial to volunteers as well. Volunteering allows us at HSBC to connect with our community, expand our network, boost our social skills and expands our knowledge and experience that helps form our opinion on matters of importance.