Case study: How Commerzbank works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices
Commerzbank is the premier financial institution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany, serving 25,500 corporate client groups and approximately 11 million private and small-business customers. The bank provides a wide range of financial services to its clients through two primary business segments: Private and Small-Business Customers, and Corporate Clients. Commerzbank is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and is, accordingly, working with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2023 Non-Financial Report by Commerzbank, prepared in relation to its implementation of the PRB, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what 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.
Which Principles for Responsible Banking have been addressed?
The Principles for Responsible Banking addressed in this case are:
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- Principle 3: Clients and Customers
- Principle 4: Stakeholders
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- How Commerzbank proceeded with stakeholder identification and consultation, and
- How Commerzbank worked with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities
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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.
Commerzbank believes in fostering open and transparent communication with both internal and external stakeholders. This involves actively engaging with various groups to understand their expectations, needs, and perspectives, and incorporating their feedback into Commerzbank’s corporate strategy.
Commerzbank maintains regular dialogue with the following stakeholder groups:
- Shareholders and investors
- Research institutions and academia
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Media
- Employees
- Competitors/ financial sector
- Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
- Political entities
- Civil society
Commerzbank maintains relationships with various organisations and groups which approach the bank with requests, demands or suggestions, and prioritizes dialogue with stakeholder groups that have a significant impact on its economic, environmental, or social performance, or those that are heavily affected by it.
Commerzbank also values the discussion on key issues related to social, economic, and financial policy.
To promote a constructive and critical dialogue with its stakeholders, Commerzbank has established an external Sustainability Advisory Board comprising experts from various fields, including politics, academia, society, NGOs, trade unions, and small and medium-sized enterprises. This board provides a diverse range of perspectives and helps shape Commerzbank’s’ sustainability strategy.
A detailed run-down of Commerzbank’s’ dialogue with interest groups can be found in its Sustainability Report (GRI Report).
How did Commerzbank work with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities?
In its 2023 Non-Financial Report Commerzbank reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:
To effectively combat climate change, a concerted global effort is needed, involving not only favourable political and technological advancements but also sufficient financial backing. To address this, Commerzbank is committed to mobilizing €300 billion for sustainable financial products by 2025. Furthermore, the financing of green technologies and innovative business ideas that can help mitigate climate change will also play a crucial role in achieving a successful transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future economy.
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:
First class PRB assurance services: The result of solid, hands-on ESG/ Sustainability experience
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- FBRH is a GRI Certified Training Partner (Global), ISEP Training Centre and a member of CPD.
- FBRH builds trust. Over 200 reviews from top professionals from around the world demonstrate our ability to build strong, trusting business relationships.
- FBRH possesses a unique skill set that combines ESG/sustainability certified training, experience in advisory services and report preparation, and ESG/sustainability report 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 Commerzbank, 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.commerzbank.de/ms/documents/en/non-financial-report-2023.pdf
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