Case study: How Spuerkeess creates economic value for its stakeholders
As a systemic bank in Luxembourg, Spuerkeess has played an important role in Luxembourg’s economic and social development since its creation in 1856. Spuerkeess creates value entirely from two factors: fees and interest received in connection with its financing and the interest generated by its customers’ investments or by investing its own funds. This value generated is redistributed to all its stakeholders.
This case study is based on the 2020 Sustainable Development Report by Spuerkeess, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ 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.
Abstract
In 2020, Spuerkeess recorded a total distributed value of EUR 390,5 million. Tweet This! In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Spuerkeess took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for the state
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Spuerkeess has identified;
- How Spuerkeess proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Spuerkeess to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Sustainable Development Report Spuerkeess identified a range of material issues, such as adopting ethical behaviour towards employees, customers, partners and suppliers,
promoting the environmental transition and supporting customers in this process, developing products/services that encourage social inclusion, training and professional development. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Spuerkeess.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Spuerkeess engages with:
Stakeholder Group |
Spuerkeess’s sole shareholder (represented by the Board of Directors) |
Staff |
Customers |
Suppliers |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Spuerkeess engaged with its stakeholders through a survey among a total of 1,434 people.
What actions were taken by Spuerkeess to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 Sustainable Development Report Spuerkeess reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, Spuerkeess paid EUR 237,5 million for staff costs.
- Creating economic value for the state
- In 2020, Spuerkeess paid EUR 27,2 million in taxes, while also distributing EUR 40 million from its own funds to the state as owner.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2020, Spuerkeess spent EUR 345,586 in community investments (sponsorship, humanitarian aid, etc.).
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Spuerkeess, 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.spuerkeess.lu/fileadmin/mediatheque/documents/about_us/RSE/RDD_2020__FINAL_EN.pdf
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