Case study: How mBank 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.

In 2022, mBank defined the key topics relevant to its non-financial statements and ESG Report during a dialogue session with key stakeholder groups. This event allowed mBank to gather insights on the most significant aspects of its sustainable development, examining both the impact of the organization on these topics and the effects they have on mBank. Attendees included representatives from mBank’s main external stakeholders, such as suppliers, business partners, industry and non-governmental organizations, regulatory bodies, and experts in sustainability and finance. Within the framework of the ESG strategy’s five pillars, participants discussed three primary topics:
• expectations related to ESG priorities,
• proposals for ESG strategies, and
• issues considered important from the stakeholders’ perspective.

Each topic was analysed through the lenses of environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) aspects. Subsequently, as mBank prepared its non-financial statements for 2023, its external advisors reviewed the list developed in 2022 and confirmed its continued relevance.

At the end of 2023, mBank Group initiated a double materiality analysis, which is currently in progress. This ongoing effort incorporates broader stakeholder engagement through both quantitative and qualitative methods.

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

In its 2023 ESG Report mBank reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

Healthy Finance for Individual Customers

mBank is committed to promoting healthy financial management among its customers and addressing financial exclusion. Since the end of 2022, mBank has been hosting an educational website dedicated to this topic (www.twojaspokojnaglowa.pl).

In 2023, mBank launched an educational initiative specifically targeted at young customers, aimed at helping them build a positive credit history. mBank’s websites provide explanations of key concepts related to the loan application process and offer recommended steps for proper preparation. Additionally, mBank conducted the eighth edition of the educational campaign ‘Careful on the Web,’ inviting customers to participate in an online course focused on self-defence against criminal activities. This campaign included videos broadcast on television and online, highlighting common types of fraud that many customers may encounter.

Starting in January 2023, emails sent from mBank to customers who use email services from popular platforms are marked as coming from a verified sender.

Furthermore, starting in March, all calls made by mBank’s consultants or advisors from outlets require the employee’s identity to be confirmed through the app.

Supporting Charities and Fundraising: The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP)

Since 2018, mBank has served as the primary partner and bank for WOŚP, the leading charitable organization in Poland, bringing together Poles around the world. In 2023, mBank became a strategic partner and sponsor of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity for the sixth consecutive year. It has become a tradition for mBank to contribute its own donations in addition to the payments made by customers. This initiative was made easier by a special heart icon in the mobile app, where mBank donated one zloty to WOŚP for each click. Additionally, mBank created a collector’s payment card featuring a commemorative design.

Thanks to the support of its customers, mBank transferred PLN 2 million to the WOŚP account.

Corporate Banking Customers

mBank promotes sustainable practices primarily by offering a range of banking products and services to its corporate clients. These offerings include investment loans, sustainability-linked loans, and green bonds. In supporting eco-transformation industries, mBank provides the majority of its financing to the renewable energy sector.

mBank is steadfastly executing its strategy, aiming for the value of sustainable financing and mobilized funds to reach PLN 10 billion by the end of 2025. As of the end of 2023, mBank had allocated over PLN 5.3 billion of its own funds to renewable energy investments, among other areas. Additionally, mBank has financed sustainability-linked loans and green loans, mobilizing PLN 4.3 billion for the issuance of green bonds. In accordance with applicable regulations, mBank has integrated ESG and EU Taxonomy criteria into its lending process.

Reputation Risk Sensitive Industries

mBank recognizes that organizations operating in specific industries or countries may carry a higher risk of human rights violations. Consequently, in 2016, mBank established the mBank Reputation Risk Sensitive Industries Handling Policy, which prohibits mBank from engaging with entities and individuals who:
• utilize child labour, forced labour, or otherwise engage in serious human rights violations in their operations,
• exploit economically environmentally valuable areas,
• jeopardize the global cultural heritage.

Irrespective of the sector, mBank refrains from forming business relationships with entities operating in countries under UN sanctions, as well as with individuals and organizations involved in harmful tax competition.

ESG Risks in Investment Services

mBank enables its private banking clients to invest responsibly in accordance with ESG standards. mBank has implemented a guideline that applies to all model investment strategies within its portfolio management and investment advisory services: at least 50% of the assets in managed portfolios or 50% of the assets on which mBank makes recommendations must comprise financial instruments that consider sustainability factors.

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

• • • 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.

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 mBank, 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.mbank.pl/pdf/esg/esg-report-of-the-mbank-group-2023.pdf

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