Case study: How BAWAG Group creates economic value for its stakeholders
BAWAG Group AG is a publicly listed holding company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, serving 2.2 million retail, small business, corporate and public sector customers across Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and other developed markets. Creating value for the various stakeholders of BAWAG Group is a top priority. Tweet This! Economic success enables BAWAG Group to take into account stakeholder interests, such as those of customers, employees, shareholders, the public sector and society in general.
This case study is based on the 2021 CSR Report by BAWAG Group, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
BAWAG Group constantly seeks to generate sustainable value for stakeholders across its value chain, leading to a favourable impact on the economy. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders BAWAG Group took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for governments
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) BAWAG Group has identified;
- How BAWAG Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by BAWAG Group to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 CSR Report BAWAG Group identified a range of material issues, such as information security and data protection, equal opportunities and diversity, employee promotion and development, compliance with high standards. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for BAWAG Group.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups BAWAG Group engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Investors |
| Consumer protection organisations |
| Customers |
| Suppliers |
| The media |
| Employees |
| NGOs (environmental, social and human rights organisations) |
| Product partners |
| Rating agencies/analysts |
| Policymakers |
| Administrative officials |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics BAWAG Group engaged with its stakeholders through an online stakeholder survey.
What actions were taken by BAWAG Group to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 CSR Report BAWAG Group reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, BAWAG Group paid € 295.4 million for employee wages and benefits.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2021, BAWAG Group paid € 691.9 million to providers of capital.
- Creating economic value for governments
- In 2021, BAWAG Group paid € 46.1 million in income tax.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, BAWAG Group paid € 0.2 million in community investments.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by BAWAG Group, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
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