Awards for Excellence 2017
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When it comes to bank corporate social responsibility, Norway’s DNB has gone far beyond all of its competitors in commitment and transparency, and this year wins the award for best bank for CSR in Western Europe.
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Rune Bjerke, DNB |
It is clear that to chief executive, Rune Bjerke, a bank’s value is derived from its positive role in society as well as its ability to create profit, as shown by the bank’s decision to integrate its sustainability reporting into its financial reporting.
The detail and transparency of DNB’s efforts in CSR are unparalleled. On its website, the bank discloses turnover and hiring in every region across gender, and the average age of employees by region and gender. A third of its senior employees are women, for example – falling short of the bank’s target of 40%, but leading the way in the banking sector by far.
When it comes to sustainability, the bank discloses details down to the number of air miles accrued by employees in their work and its waste-recycling ratio (33%).
Rather than listing its initiatives around community giving, DNB openly discloses the number of courses in financial literacy it ran (355), for example, and the number of teachers impacted (1,390). Key performance indicators are used so that the bank can measure and improve its positive impact in its home country.
When it comes to business, the bank walks its CSR talk. All of its assets are screened. Most notably the bank pulled out of the financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline, but 129 companies were in fact excluded for investment last year by the bank and it met with 134 companies to discuss CSR and sustainability issues. The bank also fully discloses its efforts around providing credit to green energy initiatives, including the number of loans and leases for green cars, as well as the more typical loans to solar and wind projects.
