ICT
Sustainable purchasing
Organic catering
Waste16
Sustainable mobility
Rabobank promotes sustainable mobility. The 'Unplugged' concept encourages employees
to choose the workplace that is most appropriate for them, which could be their office, their
home, or another location. This enables employees to avoid 'pointless' travel. In accordance
with its sustainability policy, Rabobank encourages the use of public transport. Season tickets
for commuters are reimbursed in full, and drivers of lease cars are provided with an NS
Business Card so that they can also travel by train.
In order to minimise emissions from lease cars, Rabobank Nederland and a number of local
Rabobanks have decided to adopt a new lease car policy. Under this policy, employees who
qualify for a lease car must choose a fuel-efficient lease car with low carbon emissions.
There was no separate target for reducing air travel in 201015. Much of the carbon footprint is
generated by air travel, and the existing target of cutting carbon emissions per FTE by 20%
therefore includes emissions related to air travel.
The uses to which computers can be put keeps on increasing, and this has lead to an
increased demand for ICT resources, as well as higher energy consumption, in our operations.
The challenge is to make more efficient use of equipment in order to avoid increasing energy
consumption wherever possible. One important step taken in this area in 2010 was the
completion of the new data centre in Boxtel.
In 2010, socially responsible purchasing efforts focused on updating and expanding sustainable
purchasing criteria and sustainable chain management. The number of purchasing categories
with CSR specifications was increased, and existing CSR specifications were adjusted. At year-
end 2010, CSR specifications for purchasing categories that are relevant to CSR were available
from Rabobank Group Purchasing. Furthermore, Rabobank was one of the founding partners
of FIRA, a new, independent rating system that compares how suppliers perform in the area
of sustainability. Thanks to FIRA, sustainable purchasing is becoming a great deal easier at
Rabobank Nederland. In 2011Rabobank Nederland will continue to devote attention to its
dialogue with new and existing suppliers on the importance of sustainability.
Paper consumption16
Rabobank Group aims to cut paper consumption by employees and reduce the amount of
paperwork that clients have to deal with. In addition, the paper we use has to be FSC-certified,
which guarantees that the raw materials from which it is made come from sustainably
managed forests. In the Netherlands, A4 paper consumption amounted to 27.4 kilograms
per FTE (2009:33.7 kilograms). Paper consumption in the Netherlands in the form of bank
statements, bills, giro transfer slips and envelopes totalled 3.3 million kilograms in 2010
(2009: 3.2 million kilograms).
15 Given the impact of the financial
crisis and the rate at which the economy
is recovering, setting targets for cutting
air travel would not be worthwhile.
16 Data relating to paper and waste
are partially based on estimates.
In 2010, organic products accounted for 64% of the range of catering products at Rabobank
Nederland, up from 53% in 2009.
At Rabobank Group in the Netherlands (excluding local Rabobanks), residual waste
corresponded to 49 kilograms per FTE in 2010 (2009:45 kilograms), while paper and
cardboard waste amounted to 59 kilograms per FTE (2009: 68 kilograms).
78
Annual Report 2010 Rabobank Group