Case study: How Desjardins 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.

Further to its 2017 materiality analysis of sustainable development priorities, Desjardins surveyed its members in 2021, and 79% expressed the expectation for Desjardins to lead in sustainable development. Over the past two years, Desjardins conducted further surveys with its personal and business members and clients to better understand their sustainability and responsible finance concerns. Desjardins’ 2023 survey of 3,000 Canadians provided deeper insights into Canadians’ understanding of sustainable development and responsible finance.

These stakeholder surveys allowed Desjardins to identify the key priorities for its members and clients, which Desjardins addressed in the Listening to our stakeholders section of its Social and Cooperative Responsibility Report. Desjardins collaborates with various levels of government, regulators, and other standard-setting organizations on numerous issues, detailed in the same report section.

Desjardins’ numerous partnerships reflect its commitment to supporting communities in the energy transition and combating climate change and biodiversity loss. These partnerships back university research and training, develop practical solutions for economic players, and enhance climate education and engagement. For more details, please refer to the diagram of Desjardins’ environmental and climate action partners.

Desjardins also participates in several UNEP FI working groups to support the implementation of the PRB and PSI. These working groups offer an opportunity to discuss and work on initiatives addressing ESG issues with other financial institutions from around the world.

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

In its 2023 Principles for Responsible Banking annual disclosure Desjardins reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

The primary goal of any cooperative is to fulfill the needs of its members and clients. With this in mind, Desjardins created a range of responsible products for individuals called Desjardins Solutions for a Sustainable Future. These solutions assist its members and clients in achieving their goals, saving on insurance, purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle, renovating in an eco-friendly manner, and more. Offering 74 responsible investment (RI) product options, including group retirement savings and institutional client options, Desjardins is among Canada’s leaders in this field. As of December 31, 2023, Desjardins managed nearly $13.8 billion in RI assets. By the end of 2023, 44% of Desjardins Funds unitholders held a SocieTerra Fund or Portfolio (RI), up from 42% at the end of 2022. Assets under management in SocieTerra Funds and Portfolios increased by 8% over the same period. To aid its members in a just energy transition, Desjardins’ SocieTerra Funds and Portfolios are completely free of oil production and pipelines. Desjardins monitors the proportion of its members and clients who opt for responsible products on a quarterly basis.

In 2022, Desjardins established a dedicated team to support businesses in sustainable development. Last year, this team conducted over 700 ESG interactions concerning member/client files and Desjardins’ ESG product lineup for businesses. Desjardins expanded this lineup last year by introducing an ESG swap to encourage companies to invest based on ESG criteria. Additionally, Desjardins developed a specific strategy for the energy sector to help shape its business relationships with energy companies and support their transition to a low-carbon economy.

For individuals and business owners who do not qualify for traditional financing, Desjardins offers solidarity-based finance and crowdfunding products so they can contribute to the economic vitality of their communities. Desjardins pays special attention to making its advisory services accessible to everyone, and promotes financial literacy to enhance its members’ financial empowerment.

Finally, Desjardins prioritizes the well-being of its members and clients by providing Desjardins Identity Protection, one of the best programmes of its kind in Canada.

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

• • • FBRH is a GRI Certified Training Partner (Global), ISEP Training Centre and a member of CPD.
    • 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 Desjardins, 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.desjardins.com/content/dam/pdf/en/about-us/community/sustainable-development/reports/2023-principles-responsible-banking.pdf

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