Case study: How Coop Pank works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices
Coop Pank is a rapidly expanding Estonian bank, with a distinct ownership structure dominated by local investors. The bank’s shares are publicly traded on the Tallinn Stock Exchange, giving over 37,000 Estonian individuals a stake in its success. Committed to driving growth and prosperity, Coop Pank aims to support the development of Estonian businesses and citizens, ultimately fostering a stronger and more thriving national economy. Coop Pank is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and is, accordingly, working with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2024 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template by Coop Pank, 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:
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- Principle 3: Clients and Customers
- Principle 4: Stakeholders
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- How Coop Pank proceeded with stakeholder identification and consultation, and
- How Coop Pank worked with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities
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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.
Coop Pank acknowledges that its role as a financial institution carries significant social impact. To better understand its responsibilities and increase its positive impact, the bank has regularly consulted and cooperated with various stakeholders to gain a comprehensive overview of the challenges and possibilities.
Coop Pank is an active participant in multiple local initiatives, holding membership in the Estonian Banking Association. Through its involvement in working groups focused on financial literacy and sustainable banking, the bank collaborates with stakeholders, governmental institutions, ministries, Bank of Estonia, and other influential organisations to foster advancements in these fields. Coop Pank is an active participant in the Responsible Business Forum, partnering with stakeholders to achieve society’s goals more effectively.
As part of its commitment to promoting sustainability, the bank has started to increasingly involve its employees, raising awareness and planning seminars and trainings. This effort begins with the completion of a CSRD materiality assessment to prioritize the most critical topics, also validating the results with customers, who are an extremely important stakeholder, among others.
From 2024, the bank’s employee satisfaction survey includes a section dedicated to sustainability, enabling more methodical and effective monitoring of employee attitudes, awareness, and opinions regarding the bank’s sustainability efforts.
In 2024, Coop Pank and TalTech University began a collaborative partnership to expand studies, support students, train bank employees, and conduct research. The bank awards scholarships to students interested in artificial intelligence and ESG, both in spring and fall semesters. This partnership facilitates knowledge sharing on ESG and AI, with the bank’s experience and knowledge disseminated through the University’s entrepreneurship and research portal Trialoog, which is primarily aimed at entrepreneurs and decision makers. Additionally, the two entities cooperate on bachelor’s and master’s theses and provide internships, promoting students’ interest in areas crucial for increasing the competitiveness of Estonian banking and the wider economy.
Coop Pank invests in educating the market in general on different matters, including ESG. This involves organizing webinars, participating in seminars and conferences, accepting speaking opportunities, and writing articles. The bank’s spokespersons regularly share knowledge through various mediums.
How did Coop Pank work with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities?
In its 2024 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template Coop Pank reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:
A few years ago, Coop Pank Group made the decision to not provide financing for certain activities. As of the end of 2023, the bank’s loan portfolio does not include any loans in these excluded areas. Additionally, Coop Pank does not offer credit services to businesses or activities that are deemed unethical, associated with corruption, violate human rights, or have a significant negative impact on the environment. Each customer whose activities potentially affect the environment is evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure compliance with the relevant environmental protection standards.
ESG risks and considerations are increasingly being integrated into Coop Pank’s decision-making processes. The bank is in the early stages of incorporating ESG risks into its risk management practices, with plans to complete its CSRD materiality assessment and EU Taxonomy physical risk assessment to further advance this initiative.
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 is a GRI Certified Training Partner (Global), ISEP Training Centre and a member of CPD.
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- FBRH possesses a unique skill set that combines ESG/sustainability certified training, experience in advisory services and report preparation, and ESG/sustainability report 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 Coop Pank, 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:
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