4 This is the moment
oftruth: do we really
mean what we have
heen sayingforyears
or are we about
to abandon our
principles?
El What are the priorities for CSR
in the coming period?
S Do the financial and the economie
crises affect CSR?
El What are the effects of CSR
on our F&A activities?
El In what regions are we active and what is
your vision on cooperation with Rabobank
Development and Rabobank Foundation?
THE WORD 23
A "We have four core themes defined in our strategie framework,
all of which are being actively pursued.The first theme - securing
the Food and Agribusiness (F&A) chain - involves increased
engagement with our stakeholders along the entire F&A chain,
and launching our F&A Principles.
'The second theme deals with clean technology and innovation,
and entails identifying and investing in those companies that
are developing clean technologies. For example, together with
Rabobank private equity we're establishing a Dutch sustainability
fund that will allow us to invest in, and work together with,
companies developing clean technology. Other partners involved
in the project are Delft University of Technology, Wageningen
Agricultural University, Schiphol Airport and Dutch airline KLM.
'The third theme is ensuring financial inclusion, or economie
participation. This could involve helping companies that are
struggling financially, or providing direct investments in projects
that benefit specific communities or areas in which we are active,
especially in economically disadvantaged areas.
The fourth theme is our responsibility to the environment and
society. This is carried out by the broader Rabobank community
- for example, through local initiatives organised by the 152 local
Rabobank members in The Netherlands or through the Rabobank
International offices globally. These initiatives could take the
form of working in sport development, or helping the locally
disadvantaged or homeless. This is where the local members
play a role in their own neighbourhood."
A "It is becoming very clear that society judges businesses on their
contribution to society in the long term. If you look at new credits
and private equity investments, you see that they're virtually all
going to companies with a future: clean-tech firms and more
specifically to companies involved, for example, in increasing
the sustainability of homes and the car industry. Rabobank itself
is also looking very seriously at substantial investments and
initiatives in that direction.
"On the other hand, l'm seeing more and more focus on
maintaining short-term results, which frequently means cost-
cutting measures. This often means that activities that make no
direct contribution to net profit are either frozen or downsized.
From a CSR point of view, that's a less desirable development, as
it makes our efforts more difficult. But it is very understandable.
"You could say that this is the moment of truth: do we really mean
what we have been saying for years or are we about to abandon
our principles? I don't think Rabobank will choose the latter.
It is true that because of the crises there is more attention for
some themes than for others, but in the end, at Rabobank all four
themes are equally important."
A "Our F&A activities link directly with our work in CSR. And that
is basically across all areas, beginning with small-scale farmers
at the start of the F&A chain, all the way through to the multi
nationals that use the commodities in end products. In a number
of countries we help educate children about becoming farmers,
and then as they grow up help them establish themselves in
business. We are also active in setting up cooperatives and we aid
farmers in securing long-term contracts with commodity buyers.
We then provide trade-flow finance and work with local banks, where
we either provide them with credit facilities or take an equity stake."
A"We focus on 25 developing nations. We are active in countries
specifically where there is poverty, but that have a good supply
of food, and a relatively stable economy. From the outside, the
F&A chain looks as though there is only one approach, but in
reality there is a split, with RF responsible for the non-commercial
business, and RD and Rl responsible for the bankable business.
But then RF and RD deal with the small-scale producers and all
development issues, while Rl deals with the large multinationals,
so there is no clear dividing line. Therefore, the only way to make
this successful is to join hands and work together. One great
example is in Tanzania, where RD's partner bank, NMB, works
closely with Rl clients that are active in the country. We also have
similar initiatives in place in Paraguay, and we are in the first
stages of establishing such cooperation in China.
"Another important element in this process is keeping our
communication channels open. We have our own CSR team
based within Rl, and we exchange knowledge and information
with our networks. We also have annual round-table sessions
where we talk about strategy and look at our future direction.
Additionally, l'm invited almost weekly to join in customer calls,
which allows me to talk through issues with customers and
keep myself close to the business."
ISSUE 21 OCTOBER 2
