This e-publication is for internal sharing only and is not to be distributed outside of the company.

Click below to read more.

Sustainability
» Sustainability Report 2021
» Our Sustainability Efforts – Saving 189 Tonnes of CO2
» Empowering Singaporean Youth through the Sustainable School Programme
» Our Sustainability Efforts in Malaysia
» Our Sustainability Efforts in Indonesia

People
» Real Talk with Kate Chiew, Group Chief Risk Officer
» Moving Together as One – GELS HOD Town Hall
» Taking Care of Your Mental Health
» Resilience, Recovery, Rise – GELM CNY Town Hall 2022
» Bringing Sweet Treats to Underprivileged Children
» Celebrating Raya with the Less Fortunate
» GET Great Raya Celebration

Business & Customers
» Strategic Partnership with Bank Mestika Dharma
» Sharia Financial Literacy
» Awards from Around the Region

Read & Win
» Read & Win: March Issue Quiz Winners & New Quiz

Click here for past TGT issues.

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to share with you our Sustainability Report 2021. While this is our 5th Sustainability Report, it is our first standalone and digital-only publication.

Over the past year, we have made strides integrating sustainability into our business operations and organisational culture. We have also unveiled new product propositions developed with sustainability in mind, e.g. the GREAT Green SP, and the term insurance catered for parents with children of special needs. 

As a leading regional insurer, we believe we can play a key role in contributing to our communities. In 2021, we have doubled down on our commitment to minimise our carbon footprint and to integrate climate risk considerations into both our insurance and investment portfolios. There is still so much more to be done, though we are committed to this journey.

As a responsible employer, your success is important to us. We do this by creating a safe, conducive and progressive workplace where our employees can thrive and achieve their full potential - despite the business, environment and work arrangement challenges during the year.

Doubling down our sustainability efforts

In a period marred by natural disasters and global health crisis, we scaled up our efforts to integrate sustainability considerations throughout our business, and keep insurance affordable, accessible and inclusive.

Throughout the pandemic, we supported our clients through various financial assistance schemes, e.g. deferment of premium payments and several “Goodwill” funds to provide complimentary hospitalisation benefits and cash cover against COVID-19.

We also provided financial aid and funded natural disaster response programmes for flood victims in Malaysia, and earthquake recovery efforts in Indonesia for the needy and vulnerable segments.

The pandemic accelerated our pace for digitalisation. We implemented initiatives to deliver more seamless digital experience for our customers and financial representatives - allowing our workforce to remain agile and able to serve customers in new ways.

Managing the transition to the low-carbon economy

At Great Eastern, we want to support our clients in the transition to a low-carbon economy and are aware of the impact we can make.

During the year, we accelerated our efforts to minimise our carbon footprint and integrate climate risk considerations into both our insurance and investment portfolios.

Thank you for walking with us in this sustainability journey. Together, we can do so much more for our business, our communities and our planet. 

Khor Hock Seng, Group CEO

Please click here for the hi-res infographics

Back to top

Great Eastern Life Singapore (GELS) ran two sustainability initiatives in the first half of the year with great success – a total of 189 tonnes of CO2 was saved through our team effort!

The Great Eastern Sustainability Challenge

The Great Eastern Sustainability Challenge in Singapore was a six-week-long (9 March – 15 April) interactive gamified challenge, specially curated with internal and external activities. Participants can take part in the challenge anytime, anywhere, because sustainable practices are important not just in the workplace but also in our daily lives.

Throughout the duration of the campaign, employees were encouraged to sign up and participate in the various sustainability challenges that were printed on wobblers/tent cards placed in different locations around the office. Employees could also take part in external activities at over 1,000 touchpoints across Singapore. Sustainability points were awarded for each successful activity, which could then be converted to the planting of mangrove trees on Biak Island in Indonesia.

Though the challenge, employees were empowered to actively practice sustainable lifestyle habits, showcasing how easy it is to take simple and yet meaningful environmental actions with our everyday choices. By the end of the challenge, we were able to plant 608 mangrove trees, saving 187.26 tonnes of carbon!

Earth Week 2022: Invest in our planet

Earth Week 2022, which took place from 18-22 April, provided a great opportunity for employees to learn more about the environment and to get involved. This year, the theme for Earth Day was #investinourplanet and our colleagues from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore were offered a plethora of options to get involved, be informed and inspired.

Together, we achieved a savings of 2.18 tonnes of CO2 - through upcycling workshops, a pre-loved clothes donation and a total of 552 hours of energy conserved through a lights-off campaign. Participants who joined the Sustainability webinars also received composting starter kits to kick-start their composting habits. All of these initiatives enabled us to further our cause in building a sustainable world as we stay committed to investing in our planet.

Learn more about our sustainability efforts at Great Eastern here.

Back to top

Building green literacy and nurturing sustainability champions among our youth will go a long way in creating real change for sustainability. With this in mind, we partnered Zero Waste SG to build environment consciousness among secondary school students through the Sustainable Schools Programme 2022

An eight-month holistic initiative to build environmental awareness and advocacy among our youths, the programme will reach out to 12 secondary schools through a variety of educational outreach activities in addition to a competition which will run throughout the year.

As part of knowledge building, Zero Waste SG will be conducting educational activities such as assembly talks, virtual workshops, co-curricular activities training sessions and teacher empowerment workshops on topics such as climate change, recycling, zero waste and sustainability in schools to raise greater awareness and knowledge around environmental issues.

To give students first-hand experience in solving sustainability issues, the programme culminates with 15 teams across the schools taking part in the Sustainable Schools Competition to generate innovative solutions and build sustainable habits for the future. Students will design and implement sustainability projects in their respective schools through a guided process where they will be mentored by facilitators and experts throughout the competition.

As title sponsor, Great Eastern has contributed S$120,000 to support Sustainable Schools Programme 2022, which includes funding for the participating teams to conduct their sustainability projects and the competition prizes. In addition to being on the judging panel, our volunteers will also support the educational outreach activities as facilitators.

Read more about the programme here!

Back to top

The first half of the year has been an exciting one on the sustainability front as we ramped up our efforts across our Malaysian offices.

To welcome our colleagues who were gradually returning to the office as the Covid-19 situation stablised, employees received a gift to inspire them to take the next step in their personal sustainability journey - a custom glass coffee cup, bamboo kitchen brush, hand-made, vegan dishwashing block, and silicone food bag, all packed in a custom-printed thermal lunch bag.

In February, we organised an Angpow Recycling Campaign across all Great Eastern Malaysia entities. In total we successfully collected 222kg of angpows for recycling, which equates to reducing almost 1 tonne of CO2 emissions! The angpows were subsequently transported to a paper recycling centre, where it will be recycled into fresh paper rolls or combined with other raw materials to create new products.

Raising greater awareness on global environmental issues and educating our colleagues on the importance of preserving the environment is also key on our sustainability journey.

On World Water Day on 22 March, we organised an action-packed day with initiatives such as an informative webinar, digital quiz, and a virtual climate change documentary viewing via Microsoft Teams. Webinar participants learnt valuable tips from Encik Azuan Ahmad Zahdi, Head of Corporate Planning from Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), who shed light on the topic of wastewater, debunked wastewater-related myths and shared the importance of good habits in the kitchen and bathroom.

Click here to watch the full webinar:
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/97fc8660-e65b-491e-9115-2e51d75ef2b7

In conjunction with Earth Day on 22 April, more than 550 employees across the Great Eastern Malaysia entities participated in a #LightsOutSelfie challenge by switching off their lights for one hour from 9.30PM-10.30PM to make a stand against climate challenge. By doing so, they hope to raise awareness for climate change and to demonstrate how we can start with simple steps to practice a greener lifestyle.

Prizes were awarded to all individuals who submitted their selfies, and the top three departments from each entity with the most employee submissions won RM1,000 as a reward for their teamwork.

Let us all continue to take steps towards a more sustainable future! 

Back to top

Driving Sustainability through Education

Building a sustainable world takes more than one and education is essential in building greater awareness among the community. To commemorate Earth Day, Great Eastern Life Indonesia (GELI) held an Earth Day webinar titled “From Us for the Earth” on 21 April.

Consisting of two sessions, Lena Karolina from Sustainable Indonesia shared how to minimise, sort out, and process our household waste in the first session. She also spoke on fashion waste and sustainable fashion, how fashion waste is one of the biggest contributors to environmental damage and the importance of upcycling our fashion waste.

Huda and Biską from WeGrow educated on how to process organic household waste in the second session. Interested participants received a composting kit so that they could start to compost their organic waste, which will be ready for harvesting a few weeks later to be applied to their plants at home.

The event also coincided with Kartini Day, which celebrates Raden Adjeng Kartini, known for championing access to education for women from all social backgrounds and equal opportunities between men and women. In line with this, GELI conducted an IG Live session to bring out the theme “Kartini Peduli Bumi” on caring for the earth, with Nadia Arini, co-founder of Sustainable Indonesia, sharing about the role women can play to preserve the environment and champion good sustainability practices in their households and also in their fashion and lifestyle choices.

Mangrove Seedlings Planting with Trisakti

To mark World Environment Day on 5 June, Great Eastern General Insurance Indonesia (GEGI) participated in the planting of mangrove seedlings in the Mangrove Forest Ecotourism Area in the Kapuk Muara area, North Jakarta.

This ongoing programme organised by the Trisakti School of Insurance Management (STMA) for the past four years is in response to the issue of global warming and climate change, resulting in the increase of the earth's temperature and natural disasters such as floods and landslides, and disease outbreaks brought about by these natural disasters

GEGI is one of the insurance companies supporting the programme, planting a total of 2,250 mangrove seedlings. Over 50 volunteers from various companies participated in the event, the first time the event was held again after the pandemic.

Back to top

1.     Share with us more about your role as Group Chief Risk Officer. What are the key goals in 2022 and which are the most pressing risks for us to address?

As GCRO, I have 3 main areas of responsibilities - Compliance (Regulatory, Anti-Money Laundering & Market Conduct), Enterprise Risk (Operational, Technology, and Financial Risk Management) and Sustainability.

In Compliance and Risk, the focus is to safeguard the organisation and the livelihoods of employees. We work with each department to ensure proper processes and controls are in place to mitigate operational lapses, and to provide required guardrails against company risk in activities e.g. investment, product development, agency management etc. We also oversee compliance to regulatory requirements in GRM.

With the use of technology and new ways of working, we are also exposed to cyber risk as an organisation, and there have been increasing incidents such as phishing and scam frauds through clickable links and SMS communication to customers.

Our focus for 2022 is to strengthen cyber security practices and essential controls on technology infrastructure to address risks associated with data breaches (Personal Data Protection Act) and cyber incidents. Providing adequate training to heighten the awareness of staff and financial representatives on PDPA, phishing etc is also top on our agenda this year.

Financial markets are also at heightened risk levels with investment headwinds ahead of us. Rising interest rates and inflation, coupled with soaring commodity and energy prices have created volatility for us with potential mark-to-market impact on our earnings and near-term investment performance concerns. Our priorities are to work with Investment and Finance to take mitigating measures to hedge and de-risk our portfolios so that we can ensure continued resiliency of our earnings.

2.     How has risk management for the insurance industry changed over the years? What are the opportunities for Great Eastern in this area?

Risk management for the financial sector has come a long way, and has evolved alongside with the increasingly complex risk landscape. Adding to this, regulatory reforms since the last global financial crisis about 14 years ago, have led to heightened compliance requirements, and this has in turn significantly impacted costs for the insurance industry, especially when it comes to holding the required level of capital for the risk taken. The effort and costs associated with implementing and complying with these rules have also been onerous. All these have had impact on profitability and as an insurer, we have to navigate the balance between good governance and what makes good business sense.

The latter is critical as a determinant of the company’s competitiveness in the market in terms of product offerings and whether it can weather market crises and volatility over time.

When it comes to business decisions, risk management is not about not taking risk, as “an opportunity missed” is a risk in itself, but rather it is to take calculated risk within our tolerance, or our risk appetite. It is about optimizing the return for the risk that we take on. This should be the adopted mind-set for every staff.

3.     There has been a growing focus on sustainability across business sectors. What is the role we can play and how is your team driving the sustainability agenda across the Group?

There is indeed a growing spotlight on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues globally, and all companies have a role to play. In the 2022 Global Risk Report, the World Economic Forum listed “climate action failure” as the #1 long-term threat to the world that could leave the most severe impact in our societies over the next decade.

Sustainability is embedded in every role and function within the organisation. Given its importance, knowing how it applies to your job role and being adept at managing ESG risk is going to be the key to your next job advancement or role. We are working with Group Human Capital to provide training courses, competency and capacity-building within the organisation.

4.     How can we make a difference in the way we as an insurer conduct our business and contribute more across the E, S, G pillars?

As a bearer of risk and as an investor, the biggest impact we can make lies in our investing and underwriting decisions. This is especially important as we are based in Asia, home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies which have communities who face some of the world’s most pressing ESG risks.

Three areas we focus on:

1.     Responsible Investment

As an insurer with an asset base of over $100 billion, we can create long-term positive impact through responsible investing. We believe that sustainable business practices will enhance long-term financial performance and mitigate ESG risks. We continue to broaden and deepen our ESG integration across all asset classes, and should take concrete steps to address climate risks.

Equally important are the things that we have chosen not to do. For example, we limit new investment in coal producers and coal-fired utilities with no credible energy transition plan. Relevant exclusions have also been implanted in our corporate loans portfolios Group-wide.

2.     Sustainable Insurance

As an insurance provider, we take very seriously the role we play in making protection affordable and accessible to the community. As we live longer, we want our customers to have the right-sized protection and financial planning so that they can enjoy life even until the latter years. Sustainable insurance product innovation will be core to our success in this field.

3.     Running a responsible business

We should operate our business in a socially and climate-responsible manner. This is why we are focused on investing in our communities and giving back in ways that we can…. be it by volunteering, planting trees, promoting financial literacy, or through corporate donations or scholarships etc.

The well-being of our society is important to us, and we are committed to being a key partner in the community. The well-being of our planet is equally important to us, and this is why we set in place a 2025 Operational Net Zero Plan.

Simply put – we will avoid or reduce carbon emissions, use fewer natural resources, and promote environmental responsibility across our network and ecosystem. Our customers and employees are the heart of our business - this is why it is important for us to act responsibly in our customers’ best interests, and to ensure that our employees can do what they do best, at work.

5.     What do you like to do outside of work, and how do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

I am blessed with two active boys, ages 6 and 8…. and outside of work, my time is dedicated to them. I also very much enjoy cooking and of course eating!

Back to top

Our first full physical HOD Town Hall in Singapore was held after almost two years in April 2022 with close to full attendance at 78 participants, marking a new milestone for 2022.

In Group CEO Khor Hock Seng’s kickoff update on the Q1 2022 Financial Results, he announced that as life slowly returns to a pre-pandemic normal, the organisation will resume some of the physical activities. Employees can look forward to more face-to-face meetings, team & divisional engagement activities, leadership huddle events as well as the well-loved Dinner and Dance later this year.

Winnie Tan, SVP of Sustainability, shared on the Group’s Plan to release the first Standalone Sustainability Report for 2021 as well as our commitment to achieve its operational net zero ambition by 2025. Of particular focus was the Group’s Sustainability plans for 2022 in four areas: 1. Adherence to Compliance Requirements 2. Implementation of 2025 Operational Net Zero Plan 3. Establishing our business risk and appetite 4. Increasing Community and Staff Engagement.

Closing the session, James Lee, MD of Group Human Capital, emphasised the need to continuously and proactively evolve our employee engagement posture to meet the changing expectations of the workplace. He introduced the new employee engagement plans that will be rolled out progressively, which will help to cultivate a conducive environment that would motivate employees to do their best and improve overall employee’s connection to their work and the organisation.

Back to top

Some of us may have experienced feelings of stress, anxiety and isolation as the COVID-19 pandemic and lock-downs have affected communities in our markets, and offices shut for months at a time over the past two years.

Great Eastern’s WE ARE OKAY campaign launched in May 2022 as part of the company’s LIFE Programme aims to encourage conversations about mental health to ensure that our people are healthy, happy and resilient.

From now till September, we have various activities and interactive workshops by experts in the field lined up to provide employees with the resources needed to become stronger mentally as we embark on this mental wellness journey together.

Find out more about the WE ARE OKAY campaign here and hear what James Lee, Managing Director of Group Human Capital, has to say about the campaign. 

As part of our LIFE Programme in Malaysia and in partnership with Doctor Anywhere (DA) Malaysia, our employees in Malaysia can now seek virtual consultations and professional advice or support for their mental well-being through the DA platform. In conjunction with this, LIFE Programme has also introduced the online mental health self-assessment tool and organised three mental health talks between March and April 2022 with over 100 participants attending.

Back to top

Great Eastern Life Malaysia (GELM) celebrated Chinese New Year by hosting its very first hybrid Town Hall for Q1 on 3 March with the theme “Resilience, Recovery, Rise!”. The Great Hall opened its doors for the first time in two years for members of the Senior Management Team, Head of Departments and department-nominated representatives. Meanwhile, all Great Eastern Malaysia staff nationwide were invited to attend the Town Hall virtually via a Facebook Live broadcast.

This year’s CNY Townhall brought us loads of fun with virtual games, exciting lucky draw prizes, a special calligraphy performance from the CEOs of our three businesses in Malaysia, and the ubiquitous lion dance performance to commemorate the festive celebration and to usher in an auspicious Lunar New Year. Staff received mandarin oranges and angpows, while staff stationed at branches throughout the country were each gifted with a special token of appreciation delivered to their homes.

We look forward to bigger and more exciting events to come as we take the next step forward in this endemic era! Stay resilient during this recovery period, and get ready to RISE!

Check out the photo highlights below!

Back to top

With the improvement of the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia and relaxation of social measures, Great Eastern Life Malaysia (GELM) organised a fundraising activity in May to bring home-made desserts and festive cheer to underprivileged children as part of its ChildrenCare programme.

Employees purchased home-made desserts as Raya treats for the children and also gifted the desserts to their colleagues and loved ones to raise funds for ChildrenCare activities. In total over RM4,000 was raised, which enabled us to donate more than 200 dessert boxes to eight children homes registered under the purview of the Department of Social Welfare.

We are grateful for the tremendous support we received from our employees and we hope to continue to raise funds and organise events that support education, health and wellness, as well as personal development for underprivileged children.

GELM donors who purchased the dessert boxes for their loved ones & colleagues

The children enjoying their desserts

Back to top

Continuing in the spirit of supporting the less fortunate, Great Eastern Takaful collaborated with the Khadijah International Waqf (L) Foundation to organise a Hari Raya Aidilfitri event for senior citizens and children beneficiaries from various community organisations who have not celebrated a proper Raya in years.

The celebration was held at the Impian Rimba Resort Hulu Langat and spirits were high as the participants enjoyed the buffet meal, performances and festivities under a larger outdoor gazebo tent accompanied by our volunteers. The group also shared prayers and duit raya (green packets) were given out to the children. 

It was a great time seeing bright smiles on the faces of participants who were finally celebrating Hari Raya as it should have been celebrated, and a motivation to the team to continue to do good to those who need it most.

Back to top

After two years of lockdown as well as strict social measures due to Covid-19, Great Eastern Takaful (GETB) was delighted to host a Hari Raya Aidilfitri Pot Luck and Open House on 19 May for staff – aptly called the GET Great Raya Celebration.

The Live Great Café at Menara Great Eastern was decked out with ketupat leaves and fairy lights and staff turned up in their festive attire for the celebratory occasion. In line with the potluck theme to emphasis our teamwork culture, staff showcased their cooking skills by preparing delicious traditional delicacies and participants enjoyed the feast, the live busker performance and other entertainment by GETB’s in-house talent!      

The event ended with a prayer session and the giving out of duit raya (green packets) to all attendees, and all enjoyed the in-person interactions and celebration.

Back to top

Back to top

Coinciding with the month of Ramadan, GELI conducted a webinar on 19 April in collaboration with Dream Diadona to promote Sharia financial literacy. Themed “It's Never Too Late for Protection, Let's Meet Sharia Insurance”, the webinar aimed to create greater awareness in the community for i-Great Heritage Assurance (i-GHA), GELI’s first Sharia insurance product.

Coinciding with the month of Ramadan, Great Eastern Life Indonesia (GELI) conducted a webinar on 19 April in collaboration with Dream Diadona to promote Sharia financial literacy. Themed “It's Never Too Late for Protection, Let's Meet Sharia Insurance”, the webinar aimed to create greater awareness in the community for i-Great Heritage Assurance (i-GHA), GELI’s first Sharia insurance product.

Fauzi Arfan, Finance Director at GELI, welcomed participants and the Sharia Financial Planning session was led by Dewi Ratna D.A, CFP, founder of Insyirah Finance, who explained Islamic financial planning, the financial planning pyramid and Sharia insurance concept, and offered tips on how to manage the expenses of Hari Raya Allowances (THR).

Following her session, Sangkut Wijaya, Head of the GELI Sharia Unit, explained the benefit of waqf - assets that are donated, bequeathed, or purchased for being held in perpetual trust for charitable causes that are socially beneficial - and introduced i-GHA, which provides waqf benefit.

The event was attended by 118 participants and attendees were invited to participate in a Sharia writing competition after the webinar to amplify the awareness on Sharia insurance. A total of 86 attendees participated by posting their writing on Instagram and six winners walked away with attractive prizes.

Back to top

Singapore

Technology Excellence Award for Fintech - Life Insurance by Singapore Business Review
Awarded for our Financial Storyboard, a cutting-edge, interactive financial planning tool that allows financial representatives to conduct holistic financial assessments and planning for customers. See more details here.

Indonesia

Back to top

A big “Thank You” to all readers who took part in the last issue’s quiz.

Congratulations to the following winners with the correct answers! You have won 2,000 GREAT Dollars (worth S$20)!

1. Jason So Chin Chea
2. Joeven Zhuo Honghua
3. Alice Ng Lay Yong
4. Koh Jing Hiang
5. Loy Xue Ni
6. Yeo Li Li
7. Lee Li Xin
8. Winnie Gan Gok Wan
9. Toh Cui Ting
10. Charmaine Low Mei Xian

The points will be credited into your Great Eastern Rewards account in July 2022. Keep a lookout for them!

And now for the next quiz. Answer all the three questions below correctly and stand to win 2,000 GREAT Dollars (worth S$20)! Ten lucky winners with the correct answers will be picked.

1.      How many tonnes of CO2 did GELS save through its two sustainability initiatives?

2.      Who are we partnering with in Malaysia to support our employees’ mental well-being?

3.      The webinar organised by GELI to promote Sharia financial literacy aimed to create awareness for which product?

Send your entries to tgt-sg@greateasternlife.com by 29 July 2022. Open to GELS staff only. Winners will be announced in the next TGT issue in September.

Back to top