Nordea sets new course for sustainability

Nordea's annual report and sustainability report

17-02-15 11:05 | Sustainability | Reports and data

Nordea charts a new course of action in its 2016 Sustainability Report.

In 2016 we embarked on a change journey, transitioning towards a more proactive approach to integrating sustainability into all our core operations, policies and processes. By doing so, we enhance our ability to grow, while also generating value, addressing sustainability challenges ahead and ensuring our business resilience.

One lesson we learned last year was the increasing importance of being a responsible corporate citizen. The public agenda demanded that we step up as a sustainable financial player, and we answered this public call by taking a number of concrete actions to strengthen performance and integration of sustainability, including setting new goals based on an extensive materiality analysis.

Among other things, we established a Business Ethics and Values Committee and also appointed a new Head of Sustainability, a new Chief Compliance Officer and a new Chief People Officer, all of whom represent key functions in leading our proactive sustainability agenda.

“As a bank, it is a top priority to build trust with our customers and be a leading credible financial institution,” says Åse Bergstedt, Chief Sustainability Strategist at Nordea. “Our actions in 2016 were geared to embed sustainability throughout our full organisation in all our products and services to strengthen our offerings and relationships.”

Listening to our stakeholders

To identify and prioritise the sustainability aspects Nordea should focus on going forward, we conducted a materiality analysis based on dialogues with both key external and internal stakeholders.

The top three material aspects identified by our stakeholders were commitment from the Board and Group Executive Management on sustainability, transparent and credible communication, and ensuring that our responsible investments are consequently managed. These were followed by climate change preparedness and monitoring on targets and actions.

From the materiality analysis we set nine short-term sustainability goals (see Fact Box below).

Documents

Fact box

Nordea’s new nine sustainability goals:

Anchor minimum sustainability goals with the Board and Group Executive Management
Map and assess the relevance and impact of sustainability regulations and international conventions and standards on Nordea
Clarify sustainability governance model and decide on internal processes
Enhance the environmental, social and governance (ESG) screening tools to improve the consolidation capabilities for responsible investments, lending and procurement
Systemise data collection and verification processes
Launch a risk assessment framework to identify key risks in the value chain focusing on human rights, labour rights, anti-corruption and the environment
Launch position papers on climate change and establish science-based targets
Align Diversity Policy for the board and implement as applicable in accordance with new legislation
Establish a KPI framework with individual KPIs