Case study: How Standard Bank works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

Standard Bank’s Sustainability Disclosures Report outlines Standard Bank’s process for identifying and engaging with its stakeholders, who are individuals, groups, and organisations that may materially influence or be materially influenced by Standard Bank’s business activities, products, services, and performance. It offers information on stakeholder priorities throughout the year and how Standard Bank responded.

How did Standard Bank work with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities?

In its 2023 Principles for Responsible Banking Reporting and Self-Assessment Standard Bank reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

• Standard Bank has initiated engagement with clients in the priority sectors outlined in its climate policy to collect data on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their transition plans, where applicable. This initiative aims to encourage and support their transition to a low-carbon economy and support climate adaptation strategies, particularly in vulnerable sectors such as agriculture.
• Standard Bank’s sustainable finance team collaborates with clients to offer tailored green, social, and sustainability-linked funding instruments. Standard Bank provides both performance-based and use of proceeds sustainable finance solutions, working with clients to incorporate sustainability terms into their financing strategies.
• Since 2021, Standard Bank has hosted an annual Climate Summit, in partnership with the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), in Johannesburg. This summit facilitates Standard Bank’s direct engagement with clients and provides delegates with insights from African leaders on addressing climate change, managing risks, and capitalizing on opportunities. The 2023 summit focused on scaling up industry transitions and fostering joint efforts between the global North and South to address climate change in a fair and equitable manner.
• BCB has established a Sustainability Client Academy, which is run in partnership with Microsoft. In 2023, more than 50 clients from seven countries participated in the pilot. The academy will be available to all BCB clients from 2024.
• Throughout 2023, BCB hosted several client engagements at various forums, including an Energy Indaba in Eswatini, attended by over 100 BCB clients. These engagements provided clients with insights into sustainable energy and sustainable finance solutions relevant to their businesses.
• BCB has also incorporated climate modules into Standard Bank’s agribusiness curriculum for clients.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

FBRH Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Assurance:

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The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by Standard Bank, 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:

https://www.standardbank.com/static_file/StandardBankGroup/filedownloads/RTS/2023/SBG_PRBSelfAssessmentReview2023.pdf

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