The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) is prioritizing employee safety with its innovative disaster risk dashboard, designed to safeguard its workforce from the growing threats posed by climate-related disasters.
RCBC chief risk officer Gabby Tomas said that as part of its climate risk management strategy, the Yuchengco-led bank uses the disaster risk dashboard to meticulously track the vulnerabilities of over 6,000 employees and 441 premises and offices across the country.
“This dashboard allows us to monitor and evaluate potential threats such as flooding, earthquakes, and volcanic activity in real-time, enabling us to preemptively position our disaster recovery and emergency response teams where they’re needed most,” Tomas said.
“We leverage data extensively to guide our mitigation and adaptation measures, ensuring that the safety and well-being of our employees and clients remain our top priority,” he added.
RCBC’s disaster risk dashboard integrates various tools, including Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards), the country’s primary disaster risk reduction and management program managed by the University of the Philippines.
The initiative also provides a comprehensive view of assets located in high-risk areas, enabling the bank to proactively implement safety measures and minimize potential damage.
Highlighting the bank’s broader sustainability strategy, RCBC president and chief executive officer Eugene S. Acevedo emphasized the urgency of confronting climate-related risks head-on.
“There’s still much work to be done, and a great extent of collaboration is required if we are to declare ourselves truly prepared for future calamities. The private sector must work together with the government and the public to help enhance the effectiveness of climate adaptation and mitigation programs. These partnerships can help mobilize resources, exchange knowledge and expertise, and expedite large scale projects that benefit all parties,” Acevedo said.
“We must anticipate how the next chapters of our story will be written by future proofing ourselves as truly climate ready and resilient Filipinos. Climate action is, after all, a shared responsibility,” he added.
A pioneer in sustainable finance, RCBC has contributed to climate action by funding around three gigawatts of renewable energy projects in the past decade. Over the past three years, RCBC financing to renewable energy projects accounted for an average of 35% of the Bank’s total eligible sustainable portfolio.
In 2020, RCBC became the first bank in the Philippines to declare that it will no longer fund the construction of new coal-fired power plants. The bank is also the first in the country to sign the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), enabling it to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of its loan portfolio and eventually set targets in support of climate action.
