Case study: How Fana Sparebank 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.

Engaging with stakeholders allows Fana Sparebank to prioritize and gain insights into the key areas the bank should focus on. In 2023, Fana Sparebank’s main focus has been on Key Resources, with the goal of enhancing employee engagement and ownership of initiatives within the organization.

Key Resources – Engage (High influence and high interest)

These stakeholders have both great influence and great interest in using it. They should be kept satisfied and engaged.

• The board of directors, management, employees, subsidiaries, suppliers, and customers

Satisfy (High influence and low interest)

These stakeholders have significant influence but little interest in using it. It is essential to keep them satisfied.

• Authorities, rating agencies and analysts, capital markets and stock exchanges, industry associations, and NGOs

Keep Informed (Low influence and high interest)

These stakeholders are interested but have little influence. They can provide valuable information and should be kept informed.

• The local community, media, educational institutions, and research organizations

Fana Sparebank also maintains open communication and participates in various networks with other stakeholders, including competitors and similar independent savings banks, to share experiences.

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

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

Fana Sparebank is fully dedicated to promoting sustainability and incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles into its core banking operations. Fana Sparebank’s engagement with both retail and corporate clients and customers is structured to encourage and support sustainable practices, contributing to a more sustainable economic future.

Retail Customer Engagement:

Fana Sparebank’s strategy for retail customers integrates sustainability into its product offerings, with a particular emphasis on its green product lines. For example, through the green deposits program, Fana Sparebank provides customers with a lower interest rate, and the difference from standard rates is allocated as a “Green Bonus.” The bank matches this amount and donates it to sustainability-focused organizations. This innovative approach actively involves customers in the decision-making process, as they vote annually on the beneficiary organizations. This engagement fosters greater community involvement in sustainability efforts and raises environmental awareness among clients.

Corporate Client Engagement:

In 2021, Fana Sparebank launched an ESG risk query, a comprehensive tool essential to its commercial lending process. It enables detailed ESG screenings and analyses, aimed at identifying and mitigating potential ESG-related risks within Fana Sparebank’s lending portfolio. This tool also serves as a vital platform for discussions with Fana Sparebank’s corporate clients about sustainability. The ESG risk query sets out Fana Sparebank’s expectations for sustainable practices and aids in collecting climate-related data from clients, enhancing Fana Sparebank’s understanding of their sustainability profiles and encouraging them to adopt more sustainable operational practices.

Future Plans and Impact:

Looking forward, Fana Sparebank is committed to advancing these initiatives. Fana Sparebank plans to refine its ESG risk query to gather more detailed climate impact data from its corporate clients. This will enhance its risk assessment capabilities and assist clients in tracking and managing their own sustainability performance. Additionally, Fana Sparebank is exploring the expansion of its green product offerings to further incentivize sustainable choices among both retail and corporate clients.

Through these efforts, Fana Sparebank aims to lead by example in the banking industry, demonstrating that financial institutions can play a crucial role in promoting sustainability and supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy. Fana Sparebank believes that through continued engagement, innovation, and collaboration with its clients and customers it can significantly positively impact the environment and society.

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 Fana Sparebank, 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.fanasparebank.no/siteassets/dokumenter/rapporter/fana-sparebank/fns-klimainitiativ/prb-reporting-and-self-assessment-template_2024.pdf

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