Contents Introduction Management report Appendices Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements
RaboResearch Food Agribusiness organised a seminar for
Brazilian coffee farmers in the Netherlands. The Brazilian farmers
were introduced to Dutch roaster and trader clients.Together
with Brazilian government representatives and coffee experts
from RaboResearch they explored trade opportunities and
potential matches. Rabobank also hosted a group of leading
grain producers from across Australia on a knowledge tour to
Rabobank clients in the US Midwest who operate the country's
largest scale farms. Analysts from RaboResearch gave a keynote
speech on different aspects of the US grain industry supply chain.
RaboResearch also plays an active role in the debate on social
themes and contributes to the bank's vision of increasing the
prosperity and welfare of the Netherlands. RaboResearch
Netherlands launched the Broad Prosperity Indicator at the
provincial level.The aim was to facilitate discussion with
stakeholders on various socio-economic criteria and reach
better quality of (government) policy. Our regional economic
scans provide insight into the economic and social issues
affecting the areas Rabobank works in so that we can enhance
the connection between our services and our social
involvement with the region.
Knowledge and partnerships
Through our knowledge, activities and partnerships we work
to address local and global challenges as expressed in the
SDGs. Rabobank believes it can add value by participating
in roundtables to share knowledge and expertise and by
partnering with clients in ten key value chains: soybeans, palm
oil, sugarcane, forestry, beef, dairy, fish, coffee, cocoa and bio-
materials. Three criteria were used to identify these chains:
many active clients in the chain; clients spanning the entire
chain and relevant sustainability issues in the chain.
KPI: We define our vision of how to improve the sustainability of
the agricultural value chain for soy, palm oil, sugarcane, forestry,
beef, dairy, fish, coffee, cocoa and bio-materials. We share our
vision and actively participate in roundtables or similar initiatives
to accelerate the process of making these agricultural value
chains more sustainable and work together with our clients to
integrate the outcomes of these dialogues into their business
operations and achieve commercial success at the same time.
2017 2016 2020 target
Number of published value chain visions
(cumulative)) 2 2 10
Number of value chains for which we
participate in a roundtable or similar
initiative 9 9 10
As a financial institution working in multiple sectors, it is crucial
for us to have a broad vision on sustainability within a chain.
We will update our current visions on sustainable palm oil and
coffee if new trends require a new perspective on the sectors.
Working with the WWF
Rabobank has been collaborating with the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF) since 2011 on achieving our shared goal of
making global food supply chains more sustainable. In recent
years we have set up projects with entrepreneurs to increase
the sustainability of five projects in five food chains in five
countries: salmon in Chili, soy in Brazil, milk in the Netherlands,
palm oil in Indonesia and sugarcane in India.
Banking for Food Inspiration Centre
We set up the Banking for Food Inspiration Centre in 2017 to
consolidate and manage knowledge from inside and outside
Rabobank: via Food Agri research, the innovation agenda
around start-ups, and farming network initiatives. And through
partnerships with banks in Africa and Latin America and its
relationships with NGOs, organisations like the World Bank, the
United Nations and governments around the world.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
In 2017, we joined the WBCSD, a CEO-led organisation of
over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate
the transition to a sustainable world.This will enhance our
efforts to support farmers in more efficient and sustainable
production. Rabobank also became member and co-chairman
of the Climate Smart Agriculture Working Group of the WBCSD
motivated by the ambition to ensure greater availability of food
in 2030 and to reduce agriculture-related greenhouse gases.
We actively joined the Biodiversity Monitor and our partnership
with the United Nations Environment Program.
Supporting community vitality
We believe that a bank must do more than provide financial
services. Investing in communities is a significant part of our
identity. We invest in the local communities with cooperative
dividend and knowledge, networks and volunteering by our
employees. Local Rabobanks also invest part of their net profit
in the independent Rabobank Foundation, which invests in
international projects. Rabobank Foundation also invests in
projects in the Netherlands together with local Rabobanks.
Rabobank Annual Report 2017 - Management report
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