The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2023 is pleased to honor 78 outstanding business leaders and enterprises for championing sustainable and responsible business practices. Presented by leading regional NGO Enterprise Asia, the AREA is the most reputable award recognition program recognizing organizational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, integrity, and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. The AREA serves as a badge of excellence to spur further innovation and best-practice sharing for sharing about the organization and the world at large.
Cathay United Bank Co Ltd. (CUB) was among the recipients who were conferred with the Social Empowerment Award. Established in 1975, CUB is a subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd. and currently owns 165 branches spread throughout Taiwan. Overseas, CUB has 68 locations spanning China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia; employing a total of over 10,000 people in Taiwan and overseas. CUB is dedicated to corporate sustainability and has invested in working towards a low-carbon economy, environmental sustainability, health promotion, financial health, and talent nurturing. By utilizing innovative and digital means, CUB endeavors to become the leading financial institution in the Asia-Pacific region.
Students in rural areas are at a disadvantage when it comes to achieving success due to their family structure and insufficient school resources. To ensure that all students have an equal opportunity, CUB and the CUB Foundation initiated the “Elevated Tree Program” in 2004. By utilizing schools as hubs, the company provided flexible scholarships, extracurricular activities, and online TutorCUB financial courses to ensure that children everywhere have a fair and equal chance when it comes to achieving education, true to the Sustainable Development Goals that it is pursuing.
Since 2004, the “Elevated Tree Program” has provided aid to 3,186 schools and 230,000 students, raising about NTD270 million. Besides that, CUB began incentivizing extracurricular activities by sponsoring sports in 2014 and has assisted 117 sports groups and sponsored 10 sporting events, raising over NTD10 million. In 2020, CUB subsequently joined the Dream Come True Program and has fulfilled the dreams of over 150 teams and funded up to NTD39 million.
Since its creation in 2021, over 400 volunteers have answered TutorCUB’s call, accumulating over 557 hours and making a positive impact on the lives of 58 children by providing them with additional financial education.
By using sustainability to assist children in need, CUB aspires to forge a cycle of positivity. As the “Elevated Tree Program” continues to grow and flourish, so too shall it persist in its working towards its Sustainability Development Goals of providing inclusive and equitable quality education for children everywhere.
CUB aims to have TutorCUB, its online modular education program, expand its services. The program will utilize digital technology to recruit volunteers, train lecturers, and assign personnel to various tasks, thereby providing each child with the attention and interaction these students need.
The company also aspires to employ various channels to spread its influence and increase awareness for children’s education in rural areas. With its vast resources that include charity art exhibitions and activities, CUB broadens the horizons of children in need with the assistance of celebrities and the promotion of extracurricular activities.
About Enterprise Asia
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine toward sustainable and progressive economic and social development within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existence are investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asia works with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for the future generation. Please visit https://www.enterpriseasia.org/ for more information.
About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA)
The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards program recognizes and honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the categories of Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership, Corporate Sustainability Reporting, and Responsible Business Leadership. For more information, visit: https://enterpriseasia.org/area/.