Our own operations

Electric and plug-in hybrid company cars only

In 2020 we introduced a new company car policy which means that from 2021 onwards we have only allowed electric and plug-in hybrid company cars. This has been well received by our employees, with plug-in hybrids accounting for approximately 2/3 and electric 1/3 of all new company cars.

Reducing travel

We can now rely much more on digital meetings, which means that we will not return to pre-pandemic travel levels. In addition to reducing travel overall, the updated travel guidelines also require us to travel more by train to further reduce our carbon footprint.

Changing from paper to digital

Nordea has been replacing physical letters with customer-friendly digital solutions through our Paperless Banking Programme. Between 2017 and 2022 the programme has digitalised approximately 60% of all customer letters, which means fewer carbon emissions connected with distribution.

Carbon offsets for emissions from internal operations

Despite our best efforts to limit our internal carbon footprint, some emissions still remain difficult to reduce. For these, we purchase carbon offsets to reduce equiva­lent emissions elsewhere. We supported the generation of renewable energy through the purchase of carbon credits for 2022. We will continue to fully offset the residual emissions from our internal operations. Going forward, we will be shifting to a long-term carbon removal portfolio, which we will periodically review to align with evolving best practices for achieving net-zero emissions.

Mindful energy consumption

In 2022 we decreased our energy consumption by 11% compared with 2021. Over 70% of our large head offices are LEED or BREEAM certified to ensure energy efficiency. One of the drivers of our internal carbon footprint is the data centres and technology used to run the business. Although the data volume remained at the same level, our data center consolidation strategy had a significant impact with CO2 emissions being reduced by 9% compared with our 2019 baseline.

A more sustainable workplace

We are also working towards making our workplace more sustainable. For example by offering more vegetarian options and serving local and seasonal produce as much as possible. We aim to inspire our employees to reduce their own carbon footprint. To this end, we rolled out an e-learning programme to educate our people on sustainabil­ity themes, offering recycling solutions together with external partners, as well as an IT accessories recycling programme, making it easy and attractive for our people to significantly reduce their own e-waste.

Employees are able to volunteer

Nordea employees can spend two paid working days per year volunteering. In 2022 over 2,000 Nordea employees delivered over 7,900 hours of vol­unteering.

Sharing financial skills with youth

Every year Nordea employees have the opportunity to visit schools, where they are invited to teach financial skills. Read more about this on the different country pages.

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Supporting Ukraine

In 2022 we gave donations to UNICEF and the Red Cross to support their relief efforts in Ukraine and impacted coun­tries. We waived all transaction fees for household and busi­ness customers’ donations to charities engaged in emergency response actions. In addition, we organised employee collections of essential items to people in need and launched a new volunteering programme to support refu­gees with over 650 Nordea employees volunteering.

We govern our work

Sound corporate governance means ensuring that companies are run sustainably, responsibly and as efficiently as possible on behalf of their shareholders. By fostering a purpose-led culture with a robust operating model, we can enable speed and scale in the transition to a resilient economy while at the same time reducing sustainability-related risks.

Gender balance in all parts of the organ­isation

One example of our work with responsible banking is gender balance at the workplace. We strive for gender balance in all parts of the organ­isation, including at the total workforce level and at each leadership level. In all cases, no gender should be represented by less than 40% of employees. 

Promote health

We proactively foster a supportive and inclusive work environment where employees feels valued, heard and empowered.  
We engage in open communication and encourage feedback in various forums on employees’ working situation, making it possible to take relevant measures to improve employees’ work life. 
Supported with regular assessments, accessible trainings and designated services and tools we support all aspects of our people’s wellbeing. 
We have mandatory Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) training and Leaders’ Working Environment Responsibilities for all leaders. Other topic-specific trainings on area of wellbeing are accessible for all employees through our e-learning platform.
Our comprehensive benefit package includes for example;   health examinations, support for ergonomics, individual health coaching and mental health support.
In addition, employees have the possibility to engage further by taking the role as a wellbeing ambassador or being involved in any of our internal recreational clubs e.g. fitness training, skiing, art and gaming. 

Ensure a great working environment

To support prevention, our occupational health and safety guideline summary (OH&S) OH&S management system (following the ISO standards 45001 and 45003) and our OH&S risk taxonomy guide us in investigating, risk assessing and taking mitigating actions to continuously improve our working environment and the wellbeing among our employees. Our OH&S management system is reviewed once a year to secure that it’s valid and adapted to our needs.
The safety of our employees in emergency situations is also ensured through tested business continuity and crisis management processes.
We assess the working conditions and the health and wellbeing status to identify and prevent workplace accidents, injuries and health hazards in an early stage, using a range of different measures; e.g. Wellbeing Index, Working conditions Index and Workplace experience survey.
In structured manner we involve our employees, the designated OH&S representatives and union members into the dialogue about our employees’ working conditions. Nordea also supports employee resource groups (ERG’s) that are voluntary, employee-led groups (such as; ability variation, gender equality, LGBTQ + and Allies) that aim to contribute to fostering an inclusive workplace.
To get valuable input we run ongoing dialogues at all organisational levels i.e. team level, country level and Group level.

Manage illness and workability

We recognise the importance of reactive measures in supporting our employees in times of need. We offer preventive and reactive occupational health care services to support our employees’ health and wellbeing. This is organised differently in each country due to local regulations and standards. We are using both external suppliers and in-house specialists, such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. In case of decreased working ability, we address the situation early, making rehabilitation plans for an employee to ensure safe return to work , partially or full-time, as soon as possible.