Business Assessment: PNB and HSBC CSR Report Comparison

This report provides a comparative analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports of Punjab National Bank (PNB) of India and HSBC. It examines their CSR initiatives, including sustainability, environmental conservation, and social welfare programs. The report highlights the differences in their reporting approaches, with HSBC providing more detailed and transparent information compared to PNB. It also assesses the companies' alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and applies social accounting principles to evaluate the quality of their reports. The analysis reveals that HSBC demonstrates a stronger commitment to SDGs and a more comprehensive approach to social reporting. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of CSR in enhancing a company's reputation and competitiveness, particularly in attracting investors and customers. The report also discusses the relevance of the discussion on both companies, emphasizing HSBC's focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and its commitment to clean energy. The report acknowledges the omission of fraud reports by HSBC, and concludes that CSR is an important tool for business organizations.

BUSINESS VALUES ASSESSMENT REPORT
Introduction
Fallon (2017) states that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a practice by a business
organization to give back to society in different ways other than their usual goods and services.
A popular practice contributes to the organizations’ performance, operations and reputation. In
addition, more than just quality products and services attract consumers and more than half the
percentage of consumers is ready to pay more money just to get products and services from
businesses that are responsible in terms of social activities and environmental conservation
practices (Hayzlett, 2016). This paper covers the Corporate Social Responsibility reports of two
companies operating in different countries under the same industry.
i) Selected Companies
Companies under discussion in this report are The Punjab National Bank (PNB) of India and
HSBC Company. Punjab National Bank is a bank based in Delhi, India, although it has branches
in many other parts of the world. It became operational in April 1895 as the first Swadeshi bank
ever. This company operates under the banking industry in Delhi, India, and it is owned by the
state. The bank has a brand image, which includes 122 years of operation, growing operational
profit, low deposit charges and more than 10 crore customers. This bank performs several
business activities ranging from collecting taxes, pension schemes, provision of public funds and
government saving schemes, among other business activities.
Cases of fraud have been reported and drawn attention to this bank. One of them was issuance of
Unauthorized Letters of Undertaking to companies that avail buyers’ credit (Saha, 2018). This is
reported to have been done by an employee in collusion with a former employee of the bank.

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
HSBC is also a financial institution operating under the banking industry. This multinational
bank is based in Hong Kong, China. It also has other branches around the world, including
Newyork, Paris and London. It was established in 1865 with a purpose of financing trade
between Asia and Europe. The HSBC is an organization engaging in mainly banking activities in
the banking industry. The services include Global banking and markets, commercial banking,
Retail banking and wealth management, and Global private banking.
One of the social performance issues reported on HSBC is value creation. The company
acknowledges the importance of providing sustainable value to its stakeholders, but it does not
give a broader explanation of the implementation process (Adams, 2015).
ii) Evident Differences in terms of their Social Reports
Punjab National Bank’s social report of the 2016-2017 financial years covers a range of issues.
They include sustainability, corporate volunteering, social investments, health, green initiatives,
collaboration, and promotion of sports among other initiatives.
The major themes evident in this report are social welfare and environmental conservation.
According to the report, sustainability is one of the goals the bank is working towards but has not
been achieved yet. It does not outline ways in which sustainability will be achieved, but rather
acknowledges its importance only. Punjab National Bank also ensures that their staff participates
fully on activities that involve corporate volunteering. The report however, does not illustrate on
any volunteering initiatives they have participated so far. The report is brief and with important
details omitted.

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
In terms of social investments, the bank has contributed through Farmers’ Welfare Trust, Rural
Self-Training Centers and Financial Literacy and Credit Counseling centers, by funding and
facilitating them. One of the green initiatives facilitated by this bank is environmental
conservation. This is through creating awareness on conservation of water, electricity and paper.
Campaigns on rain-water harvesting and environment-friendly constructions have been launched.
Wind and solar energy have also been promoted in rural areas.
On the other hand, the HSBC Corporate Social Responsibility report covers issues like health,
environment, water program, heritage, Malta Foundation and volunteering. It deeply explains the
Malta Foundation, which is an initiative by the bank working towards providing quality life and
education, promoting sustainable environment and preserving its historical heritage. All the
activities by the foundation are covered in details. The tone in this report is clear, confident and
concise.
Major similarities in the issues covered are health promotion, volunteering, environmental
conservation and social welfare initiatives. The major difference is the theme of HSBC working
to preserve the Malta’s historical heritage. For Punjab National Bank, the approach of reporting
is pathetic since it covers content with very few details. The themes are more future plans than
past achievements. HSBC gives the reader a clear understanding of all its social responsibility
achievements, activities and plans.
iii) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’S) in the 2 Companies
Sustainable Development Goals are a list of objectives developed by United Nations to be
achieved by the year 2030. The main agenda is to transform the world by solving problems faced

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
by humankind to promote quality life, economic development and environmental conservation
(Pradhan, et al, 2017).
HSBC bank has been working towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals
through most of its projects. Quality education is the fourth goal among those aimed for
achievement. It is relevant to HSBC in terms of the several initiatives it has launched in support
of education. In the Corporate Social Responsibility report by HSBC, it is clearly and explicitly
discussed under the Malta Foundation. The International Achieve program is one of the
initiatives that sponsor students to re-engage and succeed in education. The approach of this
reporting is effective, as it leaves no stone unturned.
The Punjab National Bank has also shown efforts in working towards Sustainable Development
Goals. One of its major initiatives is conservation of the environment, a goal covered under
climate action. In 2017, Punjab National Bank received a loan worth $100 million from the
Asian Development Bank. This loan was meant to fund a project of installing solar systems on
rooftops in industries and commercial buildings (Rajesh and Graham, 2017). The program was
aimed at aiding the government in its plans to increase solar power generation and reduce carbon
emission. This goal is implicitly mentioned in the Punjab National Bank Corporate Social
Responsibility report. It is one of the ‘Green initiatives’ mentioned. The initiative aims at
promoting wind energy and popularizing solar energy in rural areas. This kind of reporting is so
shallow since it leaves a lot of information unexplained.
iv) Social Accounting approach quality according to Zadek et al (1997) criteria
Social accounting is the process by which a business organization communicates the
environmental and social impacts of its economic activities to a particular set of people or the

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
whole community at large. The eight principles according to Zadek are evolution, completeness,
disclosure, external verification, continuous improvement, management policies and systems,
comparability and inclusivity (Essays UK, 2013).
The eight principles are some of the considerations that business organizations need to put in
place when it comes to presenting Corporate Social Responsibility reports. Basing on the
completeness principle, Punjab National Bank’s report does not meet it. Issues covered in the
report are shallow and incomplete. The Green initiative is not covered in substantial details. The
continuous improvement principle does not also reflect in this bank’s report. However, there are
principles that have been considered. These include inclusivity, comparability, evolution and
disclosure.
On the other hand, HSBC has complied with some of the principles of social quality accounting.
The principles include completeness, disclosure, continuous improvement and inclusivity. HSBC
Holdings has been participating in social and environmental welfare activities for so many years
now. This is evident since their social responsibility report covers a wide range of initiatives
undertaken over the years. The report is also externally verifiable because of the explicit
explanations provided in the report. Contrarily, management policies and systems have not been
mentioned in the HSBC Corporate Social Responsibility report. The report is inclusive of all the
activities undertaken by the company. This ranges from its initiatives towards improving
education, promoting health, campaigns to conserve the environment and funding to improve the
livelihood of members of the society (Elias & Johannesson, 2013).
v) The extent to which the social reports reflect the companies’ stated values

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
The mission of Punjab National Bank is ‘creating value for all its customers, investors and
employees for being the first choice for all the stakeholders.’ Its vision is to position itself as the
most preferred bank for customers, the best place to work in for employees and a benchmark of
excellence for the banking industry. Business principles set by the bank include; respecting,
protecting and restoring the environment, responsibly engaging in influencing the public and
regulatory policy, supporting inclusive growth and equitable development, engaging and
providing value to customers responsibly among other principles.
Being one of the business principles, environmental conservation is a practice, which the bank
has shown efforts to respect. In its social responsibility report, it has implemented ‘Green
practices’ which aim at conserving resources and the environment. Contrarily, the bank has
reported cases of fraud in some of its branches (Bloomberg, 2018), incidents which violate the
bank’s vision of being a benchmark of excellence.
HSBC’s vision is to be one of the world’s great specialist banking groups, driven by commitment
to its core philosophies and values. Its mission is providing a comprehensive range of financial
services, including commercial banking, private banking, corporate investment banking and
personal financial services (Kolk, 2010). The business principles governing HSBC include
outstanding customer service, effective and efficient operations, strong capital and liquidity,
conservative lending policy, and strict expense lending. All the business values and principles
stated by HSBC only aim at its internal operations. This means none of the values is aligned to
their Corporate Social Responsibility report.
vi) Reflection: Relevance of the discussion on Punjab National Bank and HSBC
Holdings

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
Following the discussion on the two companies, HSBC is more determined and focused on
working towards the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. This is evident from
its social responsibility report. Its embrace to social welfare initiatives and efforts to implement
their plans justifies this point. Programs like the Malta Foundation involve different kinds of
community and social empowerment. In addition, HSBC has set aside $100 billion to facilitate
clean energy and low-carbon technologies up to 2025 (Hermes, 2017). This intends to contribute
to the United Nations’ goal of climate action and environmental conservation.
Furthermore, the social performance reports produced by the two companies explain how
different they are despite being in the same industry. Punjab National Bank has no confidence in
its Corporate Social Responsibility report from the way the content is presented. The themes
covered in the report are discussed very briefly and implicitly. Most of the initiatives and
programs are mere plans. Acknowledgements have been made on important factors that can be
beneficial to the society. However, the report does not include a plan on how the factors can be
implemented.
From the influence of the discussion, there are no fraud reports by HSBC. This is a point to
disagree on since the company faced fraud and money laundering charges a few years ago. The
accusations involved the HSBC Swiss branch helping its rich clients to evade payment of tax
(Treanor, 2014). Most of the negative social performance and ethics have been omitted in these
companies’ performance reports.
Conclusion
Precisely, Corporate Social Responsibility is an important tool that can be used by a business
organization in developing itself. Having an active and focused Corporate Social Responsibility

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
can help in documenting a good report worth reading. In modern days, investors, and other
customers use a business’ social performance report as the basis on which they choose where to
invest. A good and up to date social responsibility report gives a competitive advantage to an
organization. Basing on the companies discussed here, HSBC stands a higher survival chance in
competition.

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
Bibliography
Adams, C. (2015). HSBC's Coporate Reporting. Retrieved May 15, 2018, from Towards a Sustainable
Business: https://drcaroladams.net/hsbcs-corporate-reporting/
Bérard C. & Delerue H. (2010). A cross cultural analysis of intellectual asset protection in SMEs: The‐
effect of environmental scanning. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , 17 (2), 167-
183.
Bloomberg, A. (2018). Punjab National Bank Reports $1.8 Billion Fraud At A Mumbai Branch. Retrieved
May 15, 2018, from https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/punjab-national-bank-reports-1-8-billion-fraud-
at-a-mumbai-branch-1812491
Elias M. & Johannesson P. (2013). A context based process semantic annotation model for a process‐
model repository. Business Process Management Journal , 19 (3), 404-430.
Essays, U. (2013). Corporate Governance and Ethics Practice. Retrieved May 15, 2018, from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/corporate-governance-and-ethics-practice-business-
essay.php?vref=1
Fallon, N. (2017). What is Corporate Social Responsibility? Retrieved May 15, 2018, from
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html
Hayzlett, J. (2016). Why Should Your Business Care About Social Responsibility? Retrieved May 15, 2018,
from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/269665
Hermes, J. (2018). HSBC Increases Financing For Clean Energy & Low-Carbon Projects. Retrieved May 15,
2018, from https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/11/hsbc-commits-100b-sustainable-financing-
investment/
Kolk, A. (2010). HSBC Holdings Vision: "We aspire". Retrieved May 15, 2018, from
https://www.slideshare.net/openinnovation/visions-missions-of-fortune-global-100/25-
HSBC_HoldingsVisionWe_aspire_to_be
Mersham G. M. & Skinner C. (2016). South Africa’s bold and unique experiment in CSR practice. Society
and Business Review , 11 (2), 110-129.
Natschläger C. & Verena G. (2013). A layered approach for actor modelling in business processes.
Business Process Management Journal , 19 (6), 917-932.
Nixon, T. (2017). Why HSBC integrates sustainability into its business model. Retrieved May 15, 2018,
from https://blogs.thomsonreuters.com/answerson/hsbc-integrates-sustainability-business-model/

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT REPORT
Pradhan P., Costa L., Rybski D., Lucht W. & Kropp J. (2017). A Systematic Study of Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) Interactions.
Rajesh D. & Graham D. (2017). $100 Million ADB Loan to Punjab National Bank to Finance Solar Rooftop
Projects. Retrieved May 15, 2018, from https://www.adb.org/news/100-million-adb-loan-punjab-
national-bank-finance-solar-rooftop-projects
Saha, M. (2018). PNB fraud brings back the issue of Know Your Employee norms. Retrieved May 15,
2018, from http://www.thehindu.com/business/pnb-fraud-brings-back-the-issue-of-know-your-
employee-norms/article22777187.ece#!
Tran, B. (2010). International business ethics. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy , 9 (3), 236-
255.
Treanor, J. (2014). HSBC faces charges of fraud and money laundering from Belgian state. Retrieved May
15, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/17/hsbc-swiss-arm-fraud-money-
laundering-charges-belgium