Case study: How AIB takes action on its PRB targets: climate and housing
AIB is a financial services group operating predominantly in the Republic of Ireland and the UK, providing a comprehensive range of services to personal, business and corporate customers in AIB’s target markets. AIB is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and has, accordingly, set and published two targets which address two different areas of most significant impact that AIB identified in its impact analysis. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2023 Sustainability Report by AIB, 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:
- Principle 2: Impact and Target Setting
- Principle 4: Stakeholders
Abstract
AIB has set targets for climate and housing. They are published annually in AIB’s Sustainability Report, along with progress made against them. In order to show that it has implemented the actions it defined to meet the set targets, AIB took action on:
- SMART Target 1: Climate
- SMART Target 2: Housing
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With this case study you will see:
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- Which are the PRB targets AIB has set and published;
- How AIB proceeded with stakeholder identification and consultation, and
- What actions were taken by AIB on its PRB targets
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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.
As AIB is a financial services group, its stakeholders are those who influence AIB’s business or are impacted by it. They include customers served and suppliers across communities in Ireland, as well as investors and the Central Bank of Ireland, AIB’s financial services regulator.
In 2023, AIB completed its most recent materiality exercise, which included c. 1,000 interviews across customers, employees, suppliers, investors, regulators, community and trade associations, and the general public.
Through this process, AIB identified the issues of most importance to these stakeholders as to what AIB should strategically focus on. AIB’s SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) Targets in climate and housing are aligned to these outcomes.
AIB also monitors its customer experience through its ‘Voice of the Customer’ programme, using Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to measure satisfaction.
What actions were taken by AIB on its PRB targets, climate and housing?
In its 2023 Sustainability Report AIB reports that it took the following actions on its PRB targets, climate and housing:
- SMART Target 1: Climate
- As at 31 December 2023, AIB allocated €11.6bn in green lending, reflecting its strong progress in supporting Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon economy, reaching AIB’s 2023 target.
- SMART Target 2: Housing
- As at 31 December 2023, AIB provided lending approvals of c. €91m to fund the building of new A-rated social houses, representing c. 499 homes. This reflects AIB’s strong progress in supporting social and affordable housing in Ireland, showing that AIB is on track to deliver the SMART target by 2024.
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.
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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 AIB, 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://aib.ie/content/dam/frontdoor/sustainability/AIB-sustainability-report-2023.pdf
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