Case study: How Creand Crèdit Andorrà 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.

The primary stakeholders identified by Creand Crèdit Andorrà include: customers, who are central to its business decisions and its very purpose; shareholders, as the owners of the entity; employees, the bank’s most valuable asset and key to overcoming its challenges; the community, where Creand Crèdit Andorrà aims to make a positive impact through its progress and socio-economic and environmental development; suppliers, whose importance lies in ensuring the delivery of quality and secure services; and the media, given their role in informing and influencing society in an increasingly transparent world.

Between 2023 and 2024, Creand Crèdit Andorrà carried out a new materiality assessment to review, identify, and prioritize factors that could significantly impact Creand in economic, social, and environmental (ESG) terms. Creand Crèdit Andorrà adopted a dual materiality approach, aligned with the latest standards. Impact materiality considers the actual and potential impacts of the bank’s activities on the environment and stakeholders, while financial materiality assesses the potential economic consequences of ESG risks and opportunities for the bank.

To support this analysis, ongoing dialogue with the public and stakeholders has been essential. Consultations included shareholders, management, employees, customers, suppliers, and the community. Additionally, to deepen the understanding of dual materiality, a workshop was held with employees from various departments and organizational levels to gather diverse perspectives and expectations.

Specifically, Creand Crèdit Andorrà has implemented various initiatives targeted at these stakeholders:

Community

Creand Crèdit Andorrà provides a diverse array of initiatives for the general public, designed to offer tools, knowledge, and experiences in an inclusive manner that is accessible to all members of society, regardless of age or social background:

• Public debates
• Educational sessions in schools
• Training sessions
• Large-scale conferences
• Content on social media platforms
• Podcasts
• Collaborations with media outlets
• The Creand Chair of Entrepreneurship and Banking (IESE)

Suppliers

In 2024, Creand Crèdit Andorrà focused on developing a supplier contracting document that incorporated an ESG questionnaire. This document is intended to ensure compliance with Andorran data protection laws and to strengthen its overall effectiveness. Simultaneously, efforts have been made to advance and finalize two policies related to supplier relationship management, which lay the foundation for integrating ESG criteria more comprehensively into the upstream value chain:

• Outsourcing Functions Policy
• Supplier Selection and Evaluation Policy

These policies were anticipated to be approved by May 2025 and will facilitate actions across various areas, including the potential development of subsidiary-specific policies.

Employees

Regarding initiatives focused on employees, Creand Crèdit Andorrà has approved a Remote Work Policy designed to improve flexibility and work-life balance, while also supporting a reduction in employee commuting. The bank plans to conduct a new mobility survey after the policy has been in place for approximately six months, allowing enough time for its effects to manifest. This survey will help assess whether emission reduction targets related to employee travel can be established.

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

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

Creand Crèdit Andorrà’s Sustainability Policy, approved by the Board of Directors in January 2023, adopts a customer-centric approach.

Creand Crèdit Andorrà regularly hosts various events to promote solutions, products, and services to customers, including financial education programs, market monitoring workshops, and sessions on new business opportunities, among others.

Additionally, the bank has several initiatives aimed at fostering, financing, and supporting new entrepreneurial ventures, such as the Scale Lab Andorra project and the Innovation Hub.

In the investment sector, Creand Crèdit Andorrà’s asset management company is developing a standard for integrating ESG criteria into investment and advisory decisions. This standard will encompass, among other elements, a policy of sectoral exclusions.

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 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 Creand Crèdit Andorrà, 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://creandgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/ICA_Creand_2024_complet_ANG_30.07.pdf

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