South Korea’s KB Financial Group on Thursday released its annual sustainability report for 2021 sharing its achievements in and insights on environmental, social and corporate governance.

The report includes KB’s experience in dealing with key ESG issues such as climate change, green financing and diversity alongside the firm’s stance on corporate governance, ESG management and social responsibility.

In October 2021, KB was officially endorsed by the Science Based Targets Initiative, becoming the first financial institution in Asia to receive a green stamp from the global body.

SBTi is an organization that assesses corporate green goals based on science. In recent years, its endorsement has grown to be a key certificate to get for businesses seeking to validate their emissions targets.

“The road to ESG is about humanity’s existence in the future and it must be sustained for the better future,” KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo said in a statement.

“KB will continue to make efforts to help steer the world to a better place through our unique ESG management system,” he added.

KB’s net profit hit an all-time high last year, up 27.6 percent on-year at 4.41 trillion won ($3.35 billion), the group said in a recent regulatory filing.

(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)