Contents Foreword Management report Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements Pillar 3
Strategic pillar
No
Material topic
Reference
Rock-solid bank
1
Improving performance
Page 19
Rock-solid bank
2
Strengthening capital ratios
Page 50
Rock-solid bank
3
A more flexible balance sheet
Page 54
Rock-solid bank
4
Balancing risks and retuns
Page 56
Complete customer focus
5
Restoring trust
Page 61
Complete customer focus
6
Increasing transparency
Page 66
Complete customer focus
7
Digitalising services
Page 69
Complete customer focus
8
Engaging with stakeholders
Page 73
Meaningful cooperative
9
Working with clients on
sustainability risks and returns
Page 78
Meaningful cooperative
10
Stimulating sustainable
agriculture
Page 83
Meaningful cooperative
11
Supporting the vitality of
communities
Page 87
Meaningful cooperative
12
Promoting a circular economy
Page 93
Empowered employees
13
Developing talent and
competences
Page 98
Empowered employees
14
Encouraging diversity and
equality
Page 102
Empowered employees
15
Responsible remuneration
Page 104
Data collection of sustainability information
The financial information of Rabobank has been prepared
in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS), for which we refer to the Financial Statements.
The collection of sustainability information is coordinated
centrally within Rabobank Group. The Sustainability department
is responsible for data collection, in cooperation with Finance
Control. The sustainability data of Rabobank Group divisions
and local Rabobanks is obtained via Rabobank's automated
central management information system. Data which is not
recorded in the central system is collected via qualitative
and quantitative questionnaires which are based on internal
business principles, policies and external guidelines which are
approved by Rabobank Group.
The sustainability coordinator of the respective Group division/
local Rabobank is responsible for collecting and reporting the
sustainability data. Finance Control and the Sustainability
department perform plausibility checks after submission,
whereafter appropriate actions are taken in order to optimise
the data quality.
The data with regard to Rabobank's internal business
operations is mostly based on Rabobank's automated central
management information system and on invoices from our
providers. Reliable sources and established protocols are used
for conversion factors. The climate footprint is calculated
according to the most recent directives of the Greenhouse
Gas Protocol (GHG) and the associated CO2 conversion factors
originate from, among others, DEFRA, CE Delft and the Dutch
Emissions Authority. The operating information for the climate
footprint report is based on the period from 1 October 2015 to
30 September 2016.
Preparation of the Annual Report
Rabobank has organised the process for producing its
Annual Report and Interim Report as follows: at the behest
of the Executive Board an Annual Report Steering Group was
set up, from which an Annual Report Working Group was
created. The following disciplines are represented in both
the Steering Group and the Working Group: Executive Board
Secretariat, Finance Control, Investor Relations Rating
Agencies, Sustainability, Integrated Risk Management, Audit,
and Communications and Corporate Affairs. The Annual
Report Steering Group agrees on the different tasks, roles and
responsibilities relating to the production of the Annual Report
and Interim Report.
Before work started on gathering information and writing the
Annual Report, the chair of the Annual Report Steering Group
and the Executive Board decided on the structure and key
messages of the report. The Working Group then translated
these guidelines into drafts, which were subsequently reviewed
by a committee of members from the Working Group, Steering
Group and other key employees. The draft texts of the Annual
and Interim reports are discussed twice in the respective
meetings of the Executive Board, the Supervisory Board and the
Audit Committee.
Assurance
We believe that reliability of the information included in this
report is crucial for us and for our stakeholders. For that reason,
assurance is provided for the Rabobank Annual Report 2016 by
PwC (the texts on our external website are outside of the scope
of assurance). For more information on PwC assurance, we refer
to the Independent Auditor's Report.
124 Rabobank Annual Report 2016