Contents Foreword Management report Corporate governance
Consolidated Financial Statements
Company Financial Statements
Pillar 3
The data coverage improved in 2016 with the percentage of
confirmed energy labels in the mortgage portfolio increasing
by 50%. Compared to the average Dutch housing market,
Rabobank portfolio has 7% more A and B labels, 11% less C,
D and E labels but also 4% more F and G labels. This is stable
compared to the previous year. The total amount for mortgages
with an A label is EUR 32.1 billion, an increase of EUR 2.7 billion
compared to 2015.
Responsible investing
Rabobank takes companies' and countries' sustainability
performance on issues like people, the environment and good
(corporate) governance into account when making investment
decisions. We have a three pillar approach to responsible
investing, which helps us to promote sustainability on the
capital market - and play a pivotal role on it - by providing
information to customers, by entering into dialogue with the
asset managers with whom we cooperate, by engaging with
companies that underperform based on UN Global Compact
principles and by making conscious choices about the range
of investments. The pillars of the approach are: 1) respecting
internationally recognised standards that apply to the
environment, people and good governance, 2) integrating
these standards into the investment process and 3) avoiding
investments in controversial weapons.
We expect the fund managers we work with to support the
Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to demonstrate
their commitment to taking ESG factors into account during
the investment process. Rabobank also monitors whether the
fund houses it works with meet the above criteria - if they do
not, we enter into dialogue with them. Likewise, fund houses
are also expected to seek out a dialogue on these issues with
companies they invest in, for example, if the latter are lagging
far behind on one of the principles of responsible investment.
We also ask that cooperating fund houses refer to the United
Nations Global Compact principles and incorporate these 10
principles in their corporate sustainability strategies on human
rights, the environment, labour rights and anti-corruption.
Clients who want to take sustainable investing a step further
can avail of Rabobank's ample offering of additional screening
options and sustainable investment funds. These funds are
typically characterised by more stringent exclusion criteria,
a best-in-class approach or thematic investing. In 2016,
Rabobank total sustainable assets under management
and assets in custody - including funding - amounted to
EUR 6,320 million.
Rabobank aims to provide a concrete response to the investors'
concerns about climate change and the risks it involves for
them. We also try to directly address other topical issues and
customer demands related to ESG. For example, customers who
want to invest in a more climate-friendly manner can indicate
that they wish their preferences to be reflected in their chosen
investment.
Cooperation with Sustainalytics
To perform a CO2 intensity review of the portfolios of
institutions and charities that desire this, Rabobank works with
Sustainalytics, a provider of sustainability ratings. A number
of customers were offered such a portfolio analysis during
the Paris climate summit in 2015 so that they could focus on
CO2. Some customers may prefer this approach because it
is compatible with their investment philosophy or because
they believe that the biggest polluters will eventually be less
profitable. We continued to offer this service to our clients
in 2016.
Sustainalytics also reassessed Rabobank's own investment
list of shares in 2016, finding that it was less CO2-intestive
than in 2015. The pool of shares which serves as the
basis of investment specialist portfolios is now 56% less
CO2-intensive (per converted dollar) than the worldwide
reference benchmark (MSCI Developed Markets Index).
This pool was 47% in 2015, and we had aimed to make it at least
50% less CO2-intensive than the benchmark in 2016. The score
is partly due to the fact that Rabobank has already been taking
account of sustainability criteria in the composition of the
selection list for some time.
Dialogue and cooperation with fund houses and companies
Most fund managers had the issue of climate change clearly on
their radar, but the extent to which it informs their investment
process differs widely. This was the finding of a 2015 survey by
Rabobank Private Banking of 30 fund houses with which the
bank cooperates. In 2016, Rabobank met with various asset
managers to address this topic again. We aim to see the issue of
climate change be entrenched in the fund houses' investment
processes, in a variety of possible forms. For example, a climate
policy could be formulated to measure the CO2-intensity of
portfolios. Fund houses could also enter into dialogue with
companies whose efforts to reduce their environmental impact
are really lagging behind. Our own experience has taught
us that just asking such questions raises awareness and can
lead to new initiatives for fund houses. Even though very
limited in the volume invested by our clients, we also started
81 Our output and impact: working with clients on sustainability risks and opportunities
