With its active corporate social responsibility
policy, Rabobank Group contributes in a broad
sense to the sustainable development of society.
Rabobank Group is proud to have been ranked as
Europe's best sustainable bank and the world's
second best in 2003:Triple P (People, Planet,
Profit) in addition to Triple A.
Transparency through dialogue
Equator Principles
Sustainable operations
Stronger Rabobank leadership in green market
62 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2003
Corporate social
responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) perfectly complements Rabobank
Group's co-operative identity. Via their local management, members of
local Rabobanks have a say in the decision-making of the national
organisation. As a result, Rabobank Group has an extensive network in
society.
In 2003, Rabobank Group carried out an extensive stakeholder consulta
tion among fifteen social organisations, including trade unions and
environmental, development aid and human rights lobby groups.They
gave their opinions on the Annual Responsibility and Sustainability
Report and the Group's CSR policy stated therein.This feedback has
partly determined the CSR priorities for 2004: innovation and volume
growth of sustainable products and services and CSR as a testing criterion
for lending.The stakeholder dialogue will be continued in 2004.
Together with fifteen other banks, Rabobank Nederland endorsed the
Equator Principles in 2003.These are social and environmental guidelines
for projects whose financing exceeds USD 50 million, based on the
guidelines provided by the World Bank and its subsidiary International
Finance Corporation.
In the year under review, the proportion of 'green' electricity in total
power consumption increased from 17% to 31%. Rabobank can monitor
its energy consumption online in 300 locations. In this way, variances in
energy usage can be detected, allowing a rapid response to reduce
consumption.
In 2003, Rabo Green Bank reinforced its position as market leader in
green loans, partly because changes in the tax regulations forced
Rabobank to redeem the tax-friendly 'Agaath' bonds prematurely. Agaath
investors were given the opportunity to switch to green bonds, which
they did for an amount of more than EUR 170 million. In the second half
of 2003, another EUR 540 million in funds was raised, partly for the
purpose of refinancing green bonds that were maturing. In the year under
'We were thrilled when the Swiss SAM rated us as the
most sustainable bank in Europe:Triple P - people, planet,
profit - in addition to our Triple A ratings. But there are
still plenty of areas that can be improved. For example,
we are currently looking closely at the provision of
products and services that meet both financial and
sustainable standards, such as the green bonds and
sustainable asset management. We are also planning to
introduce social and environmental criteria as part of
the lending process in order to be able to better manage
the risks arising from those areas. Furthermore, we are
buying more green energy this year and will be intro-
