Case study: How Nationwide Building Society 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.

Listening to and regularly engaging with stakeholders is fundamental to how Nationwide Building Society operates, ensuring it functions in a balanced and responsible manner, both in the short and long term. Their perspectives are vital and help inform decision-making processes.

As a mutual organization, the members, as owners, represent Nationwide Building Society’s primary stakeholders. Additionally, Nationwide engages with several other key stakeholders in decision-making, including its customers (most of whom are members), buy-to-let customers, employees, mortgage intermediaries, communities, regulators and policymakers, investors and rating agencies, and suppliers. Further information about this engagement can be found in Nationwide Building Society’s Annual Report and Accounts 2024. In developing the five Mutual Good Commitments, Nationwide incorporated insights from a diverse range of stakeholders to understand the ESG issues that are most significant to them. The materiality assessment conducted in 2024 confirmed that these commitments align with stakeholders’ views and priorities regarding ESG matters.

Throughout the year, Nationwide Building Society continued to leverage its scale and influence to drive positive change within the UK housing market.

Nationwide works collaboratively with other organizations to advance its ambitions. As part of its social investment commitment, it has partnered with the national housing charity Shelter for 23 years, funding advisors on their helplines and assisting those in housing need. Additionally, the Society provides support to the Nationwide Foundation, an independent charity dedicated to ensuring everyone in the UK has access to affordable, decent housing. Nationwide also collaborates with organizations aimed at enhancing the financial resilience of its customers. Its specialist support teams offer tailored assistance to the most vulnerable customers based on their individual circumstances. When customers have debts with multiple lenders, Nationwide engages charities such as Citizens Advice, StepChange, and PayPlan for further support. Furthermore, through its partnership with IncomeMax, the Society helps individuals maximize their income by identifying and claiming eligible benefits or grants. Since the partnership began in 2013, IncomeMax has assisted Nationwide customers in accessing nearly £2.1 million in additional income. When necessary, the Society can refer customers to organizations that provide further support and guidance, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Mental Health UK, and GamCare.

To promote diversity, Nationwide Building Society has established 11 employee networks that celebrate diversity and advocate for supportive changes within the business, fostering greater inclusivity. Through its Green Network, the Society engages colleagues on sustainability issues, providing an overview of all green initiatives associated with Nationwide and sharing advice on how to adopt greener practices at work, home, and in travel and lifestyle choices. Over the past year, Nationwide enhanced its online learning resources on climate change, explaining its significance to the organization, including information on its intermediate (by 2030) science-based targets and Transition Plan. Training on responsible purchasing is also accessible via its employee learning platform, helping colleagues understand the importance of managing the environmental and social impacts of purchasing decisions and supplier management.

Nationwide Building Society partners with several key organizations to expand its knowledge and effect change regarding climate-related matters. The Society continued its involvement in cross-industry forums to identify emerging risks and opportunities within the financial sector and has actively campaigned for further green home policies by engaging with policymakers. It has improved its disclosures to meet the information needs and interests of investors, including its climate-related financial disclosures, publication of intermediate (by 2030) science-based targets, the Intermediate (by 2030) net-zero-aligned Transition Plan 2023, and the Sustainability Report 2023, which outlines its ESG ambitions and progress. Nationwide continues to engage with ESG rating agencies to ensure it is rated appropriately, with ESG ratings available on its investor relations website.

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

In its 2024 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template Nationwide Building Society reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

As a mutual organization, Nationwide Building Society is dedicated to supporting its customers, the majority of whom are members (those who hold current accounts, mortgages, or savings with the Society). With a purpose-driven strategy, Nationwide acts responsibly by conducting business in a manner that has a positive impact on its members and customers, as well as on employees, communities, and society at large.

Nationwide Building Society has a robust framework of controls, policies, and practices that underpin its strategy and promote responsible relationships with customers. This includes policies and procedures related to economic crime, fraud prevention, information security, data protection, responsible marketing, and the provision of responsible products and services. Additional information is available on pages 36-42 of Nationwide Building Society’s Sustainability Report 2023. The Society’s supplier policies and Third Party Code of Practice outline expectations for suppliers regarding environmental and social standards. Nationwide has also made strides to incorporate climate change considerations into its procurement, supply chain management, and supply chain engagement processes. The UK Modern Slavery Act statement and Human Rights Statement detail how Nationwide fosters responsible relationships with customers, colleagues, and suppliers.

Nationwide engages regularly with customers throughout the year via various service channels, including its Member Connect online forum, which allows over 6,500 members to share their views on a range of topics, as well as at its Annual General Meeting. Each month, Nationwide assesses more than 40,000 sales and servicing interactions through customer surveys across branches, telephone, and digital channels. This feedback informs decision-making and enables the implementation of targeted improvements to services and offerings.

Furthermore, Nationwide connects with customers through educational events, such as “tea and tech” sessions designed to help them manage their money online safely and securely, and the Money Lessons initiative launched in April 2022. As of April 4, 2024, Money Lessons have been conducted in over 1,100 schools, benefiting nearly 100,000 students. These initiatives aim to enhance financial inclusion and equip young people with the skills needed for confident money management, including budgeting, saving, borrowing, and digital safety. Nationwide’s Money Lessons support the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) objective of providing meaningful financial education to two million additional children and young people across the UK by 2030 (based on a 2020 baseline).

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 Nationwide Building Society, 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.nationwide.co.uk/-/assets/nationwidecouk/documents/investor-relations/principles-for-responsible-banking-assurance-report-2024.pdf?rev=3379aed2386b41569818e81494ddd27f

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