Case study: How Triodos 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.

Triodos Bank actively engages, consults, and collaborates with stakeholders throughout its value chain to implement the Principles for Responsible Banking and address key sustainability impacts. The bank hosts annual stakeholder meetings and conducts surveys across all its operating countries, gathering insights from customers, employees, NGOs, regulators, and investors. These interactions directly influence strategic decisions, including the setting of sustainability goals, understanding emerging societal issues, and refining the bank’s financing approach.

In 2024, stakeholder engagement was incorporated into Triodos Bank’s double materiality assessment, aligning the process with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The bank’s 11th annual stakeholder meeting featured both in-person and virtual formats, broadening participation across regions. Stakeholders highlighted the importance of increasing transparency and promoting change through influence rather than confrontation. They also called for more inclusive community initiatives, such as customer ambassador networks, and clearer communication regarding individual and collective impacts.

Additionally, Triodos Bank consistently advocates for a sustainable and resilient economy through its political engagement and lobbying efforts.

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

In its 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement Triodos Bank reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

Triodos Bank takes pride in its customer engagement efforts. The bank believes in partnering with others who share the vision of making money work for positive change and promoting conscious financial practices to become, together, a more powerful force for positive impact and transformation. The Minimum Standards apply to all entities receiving financing from Triodos Bank, including loans, investments, and other financial services, across all asset classes and regions. Relationships are cultivated through various online and offline channels, encouraging customers to adopt sustainable practices and enable economic activities that foster shared prosperity for present and future generations.

Recent updates include the ongoing implementation of climate and biodiversity targets across business units, the integration of sustainability considerations into customer due diligence processes, and the continued offering of mortgage products that promote energy efficiency and bio-based construction.

By the end of 2024, 312 Business Lending clients had been engaged since establishing Triodos Bank’s climate targets, representing 30% of the associated emissions. Of these clients, 106 have taken action on climate initiatives. Additionally, Triodos Investment Management analysts engaged with 53 listed companies, with 67% of the organizations in the listed equities and corporate bonds portfolio having set a climate target.

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 Triodos 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.annual-report-triodos.com/2024/ – impact

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