GEORGE TOWN, October 30 – On a picturesque Sunday morning, Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad achieved a significant milestone by hosting its first-ever event, the Alliance Bank Heritage Run 2023, at the Esplanade. The event, with two categories of 7km and 3km, was enthusiastically flagged off by Alliance Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Kellee Kam and Group Chief Strategy, Marketing & Business Development Officer Aaron Sum, drawing a maximum of 3,500 runners.
The Heritage Run serves as a crucial part of the bank’s BeESG (Business, Environmental, and Social Governance) initiative, aimed at encouraging businesses and individuals to adopt sustainable practices. Alliance Bank went above and beyond, offering a diverse range of engaging activities, reinforcing its commitment to forging stronger connections with the communities it serves. The run was a vibrant celebration of George Town’s rich culture and heritage, bringing together people from all walks of life to support local businesses.
An iconic feature of the run was the engagement of traditional trishaws, synonymous with George Town’s heritage, offering complimentary rides for participants to explore the city’s historic sites and neighborhoods from a unique perspective. Runners also had the opportunity to express their creativity through street art, which will be transformed into a feature wall mural by local Penang graffiti artist Abdul Rashade after the event. The run featured fun activities such as tug-of-war, sack races, hoop toss, and various other games at the telematches area.
Participants were also able to explore the #SupportLokal Festival Area, which showcased local food and beverage providers, unique craft artisans, and homegrown Penang businesses. Kellee Kam, CEO of Alliance Bank, stated, In line with our vision to be a community-centric bank while building an ESG-driven organization, I am pleased that our first-ever Heritage Run has created an additional avenue for the Penang community to embrace sustainable living practices. The Run is a significant stride in support of UN SDG 11.4, enabling us to contribute to the preservation and safeguarding of world cultural heritage.
We look forward to organizing more such events to continue bringing a positive impact to the community and the environment. Sustainability was a central theme of the Heritage Run, with the lanyard, medal, and T-shirt ingeniously crafted from sustainable materials and packaged into a reusable canvas bag. The PET lanyard was made from recycled plastic, the medal from recyclable wood, and the exclusive Heritage Run T-shirt featured eco-friendly fabric sourced from recycled plastic bottles. Additionally, Alliance Bank collaborated with the women-led organization, Kloth, highlighting the bank’s efforts to empower communities through circular practices within the plastics, textiles, and clothing industry.
The run aligns with the bank’s brand purpose, “The Bank for Life,” symbolizing its commitment to being a trustworthy and dependable partner that supports customers at every stage of their financial journey. Beyond traditional banking services, Alliance Bank is committed to being a trusted partner for customers, providing differentiated solutions tailored to their needs. Alliance Bank continues to embed sustainability at the core of its business and operations, following its 3As approach (Advocacy, Advice, and Answers). This includes innovation and the development of solutions that provide more value to customers and enable them to adopt sustainable lifestyles through various green propositions.
The bank collaborates with trusted partners to offer SMEs green solutions in areas such as renewable energy, waste management, and sustainable packaging. In the consumer segment, the bank offers a Green Mortgage Financing Package to encourage green-certified property ownership. Recently, Alliance Bank launched ASEAN’s first dynamic card number feature on its Visa Virtual Credit Card (VCC), a fully digital solution that improves online security and reduces environmental impact. These efforts demonstrate Alliance Bank’s commitment to practical ESG goals, facilitating the realization of sustainability objectives for businesses and consumers more efficiently.
