Materiality Assessment
Krungthai Bank conducted the Sustainability Materiality Assessment in alignment with the Double Materiality Assessment Approach through the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards 2021. The assessment considers the Bank’s Impact Materiality, which is the impact of the Bank’s operations on the economy, environment, and society, together with Financial Materiality through collaboration between the Risk Management team and the Marketing Activation team (Sustainability and CSR/CSV). Consequently, the assessment comprehensively reveals the sustainability factors, risks, and opportunities that align with the IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information. Additionally, this assists in the prioritization and strategic planning of risk management and the Bank’s business development to align with the sustainability principles emphasized by the Bank in the dimensions of economy, society, and environment as well as to respond to the needs of stakeholders in accordance with human rights principles. Process of Materiality Assessment consists of 4 key steps, as follows:
Materiality Identification
• The Bank identifies impacts, risks and opportunities related to sustainability by gathering information through stakeholder communication channels, reviewing previous impact identification data, monitoring sustainability contexts and changes, and reflecting on interviews with representatives closely working with stakeholders both inside and outside the Bank. These stakeholders include the Bank's board of directors and senior executives, regulatory agencies, shareholders and investors, business partners, communities, customers and employees at all levels. This process ensures that the impact assessment information is current, allowing the Bank to identify impact across all dimensions, including human rights impact resulting from activities throughout its entire value chain.
Impact Identification
Identify impacts, risks, and opportunities regarding sustainability opinion surveys and interviews with internal and external stakeholders for listen to stakeholder feedback regarding the sustainability impacts of the Bank’s operations and the impact of the sustainability issues on the Bank’s value.
Impact Assessment
The Bank takes into consideration feedback, sustainability context, and impact of each issue identified by stakeholders to evaluate the impact in accordance with the GRI Standard. This evaluation includes actual and potential impacts, whether they are positive or negative, whether they are short-term, medium-term or long-term, whether they can be reversed, and their severity (size, scope, and potential for resolution). It also assesses the likelihood of both positive and negative impacts, risks and opportunities, and financial implications in reference to the Bank’s risk management process to analyze and prioritize materially significant sustainability issues with impact on the Bank’s business. The result is the Materiality Matrix with sustainability implications.
Prioritization Analysis and Reporting
After creating the Materiality Matrix based on the Impact Assessment data, the Bank processes this data to identify material topics and has them validated by experts. The results show sustainability topics with Impact Materiality, reflecting the impact of the Bank’s operations on the economy, environment, and society, as well as topics with Financial Materiality, or the impact of external sustainability factors on the Bank’s finances. Subsequently, the Bank confirms the results with relevant business units and top management level to determine a strategy and operational framework, then communicates them throughout the Bank. The scope and structure of the annual sustainability disclosure covering material sustainability topics are determined. The Bank transparently collects and discloses information regarding management, targets, and performances in accordance with stakeholder expectations, referencing external assessment guidelines such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Thailand Taxonomy (Phase I), S&P Global, and FTSE Russell. In 2024, the Sustainability Management Committee reviews and confirms this process. This committee includes line executives (N-1), responsible for driving and monitoring the organization's sustainability performance.
Materiality Assessment Results
After assessing the materiality of sustainability topics by taking into consideration industry sustainability trends, international standards, peer benchmarks, and stakeholder expectations and prioritizing impacts on the economy, environment, and society as well as financial impact on the Bank, minor changes in the Bank’s material topics were found. The Bank’s material sustainability topics in 2024 are as follows:
