HSBC Appoints Celine Herweijer as Chief Sustainability Officer

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HSBC Holdings plc announced that it has appointed Dr Celine Herweijer as Group Chief Sustainability Officer, effective July 2021. Celine will report to Noel Quinn, CEO of HSBC.

Celine joins HSBC from PwC, where she has held roles including leading PwC's Global Innovation and Sustainability capability, and acting as PwC's Global Climate Change Leader. She joins HSBC at a time when the group has articulated an ambitious agenda in the field of climate risk and sustainability.

As a partner in the UK firm, Celine has been at the forefront of PwC's global work on sustainability and climate change for over a decade. In addition, she has worked with some of the world's largest asset managers and banks on understanding climate risks and sustainable finance innovation, and has advised governments and regulators across the world on accelerating the transition to a zero carbon future.

Celine has held numerous international advisory board and committee roles on sustainability including for the United Nations, World Economic Forum (where she is a WEF Young Global Leader), G20, the World Bank, the European Union and a number of governments. She is co-Chair of the We Mean Business Coalition and is also a trustee of BLUE Marine, a leading conservation NGO.

At HSBC, Celine will work with and build on the achievements of the Sustainable Finance and Corporate Sustainability teams across the bank, as well as the HSBC Centre for Sustainable Finance, to further establish the bank's global leadership on climate change. She will lead the ongoing development and delivery of the Group's sustainability strategy, with a particular focus on the bank's commitment to the global transition to net zero. Celine's expertise in sustainability and innovation will also see her lead HSBC's climate innovation agenda - from accelerating investment into companies focused on pioneering solutions critical to a net zero future, to helping the Bank unlock the potential of investment in nature.