OP Financial Group Archives - SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine Insights on how you can protect the environment, maintain and increase the value of your company, through a structured CSR/Sustainability process with the use of the GRI Standards. Learn how Today's Best-Run Companies are achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success - and How You Can Too... Wed, 17 Dec 2025 06:45:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 Case study: How OP Financial Group identifies and works on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-op-financial-group-identifies-and-works-on-strategic-business-opportunities/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 06:58:08 +0000 https://sustaincase.com/?p=21550 OP Financial Group consists of 93 OP cooperative banks and the central cooperative they own, along with its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. OP Financial Group employed 14,602 people in Finland and 144 in the Baltic countries in 2024. It is owned by 2.1 million owner-customers. OP Financial Group’s operations are organized into three business segments: Retail Banking (serving personal and SME customers), Corporate Banking (serving corporate and institutional clients), and Insurance (serving insurance customers). This case study is based on the 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement by OP Financial Group prepared in relation to its implementation of the PRB, that […]

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]]> OP Financial Group consists of 93 OP cooperative banks and the central cooperative they own, along with its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. OP Financial Group employed 14,602 people in Finland and 144 in the Baltic countries in 2024. It is owned by 2.1 million owner-customers. OP Financial Group’s operations are organized into three business segments: Retail Banking (serving personal and SME customers), Corporate Banking (serving corporate and institutional clients), and Insurance (serving insurance customers). OP Financial Group is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and is, accordingly, identifying and working on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts.  Tweet This!

This case study is based on the 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement by OP Financial Group 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.

Layout 1

Which Principles for Responsible Banking have been addressed?

The Principles for Responsible Banking addressed in this case are:

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 Finland’s largest financial services group, OP Financial Group maintains an open and ongoing dialogue with diverse stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement is a core element of the cooperative business model. Through this dialogue, one of the primary principles and objectives of stakeholder engagement is to identify areas for development within OP Financial Group’s corporate responsibility efforts. It is important for OP Financial Group to act as a partner that respects stakeholder values and is a dependable operator.

OP Financial Group determines the key ESG themes relevant to its operations by conducting numerous internal and external stakeholder surveys and questionnaires.

The ESG forum brings together key stakeholders identified by OP Financial Group, representing various fields and perspectives, including owner-customers, employees, environmental and social groups, as well as financial and business actors. In the ESG forum, OP Financial Group facilitates open discussions with different stakeholders, promotes important societal themes, and listens to those who may be affected by its activities. The forum unites representatives from stakeholder groups such as owner-customers, employees, environmental and social responsibility advocates, and different segments of the financial and corporate sectors.

Stakeholder opinions are considered in decision-making related to business, sustainability, and corporate responsibility initiatives. This includes updates and implementation of OP Financial Group’s sustainability programs across various business units and cooperative banks. Stakeholder feedback also influences product and service collaborations, as well as communication planning. The views of stakeholders are documented and shared with relevant governing bodies within OP Financial Group and communicated back to the stakeholders themselves.

Stakeholders have also been incorporated into OP Financial Group’s double materiality analysis. OP Financial Group’s due diligence process involves multiple functions, with customers, internal stakeholders, third-party experts, and other relevant parties participating as needed.

How did OP Financial Group identify and work on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts?

In its 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement OP Financial Group reports that it identified and worked on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts as follows:

Responsible business is a key strategic focus for OP Financial Group. The group leverages the opportunities provided by climate and environmental perspectives in its product development efforts, seeking to provide sustainable financing and investment products to its customers. By the end of 2024, the total value of green and sustainability-linked loans issued by OP Group reached EUR 8.6 billion.

In 2024, OP Corporate Bank updated its Green Bond Framework for 2024 and issued a EUR 500 million senior green bond. Previously, OP Financial Group had issued four green bonds: the EUR 500 million Green Bond in 2024, the EUR 500 million green senior non-preferred bond in 2022, the EUR 750 million green covered bond by OP Mortgage Bank in 2021, and the EUR 1,000 million green covered bond in 2022.

Additionally, in 2024, OP Financial Group launched the OP-Sustainable Corporate Bond fund, which attracted initial investments of EUR 120 million. This is OP Financial Group’s first thematic fund dedicated solely to fixed income instruments. In 2023, OP Financial Group also launched a green loan to SMEs and housing companies to support green investments that help reduce environmental impact, along with an EIF guarantee granted on the basis of a green business model or for a green investment.

 

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 OP Financial Group, 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.op.fi/documents/10208/75824/PRB2024-Responsible-Banking-Progress-Statement.pdf/32388763-6fa8-0960-99e3-b0d55a8ac439?t=1743417789873

Note to OP Financial Group: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

The post Case study: How OP Financial Group identifies and works on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> Case study: How OP Financial Group works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-op-financial-group-works-with-clients-and-customers-to-encourage-sustainable-practices/ Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:02:37 +0000 https://sustaincase.com/?p=19298 OP Financial Group comprises 108 OP cooperative banks and their central cooperative, along with its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. These OP cooperative banks, and thus the entire OP Financial Group, which had nearly 13,000 employees at the end of 2022, are owned by over two million owner-customers. OP Financial Group’s operations are divided into three business segments: Retail Banking (serving personal and SME customers), Corporate Banking (serving corporate and institutional customers), and Insurance (serving insurance customers). This case study is based on the 2022 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template by OP Financial Group, prepared in relation to its implementation of […]

The post Case study: How OP Financial Group works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> OP Financial Group comprises 108 OP cooperative banks and their central cooperative, along with its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. These OP cooperative banks, and thus the entire OP Financial Group, which had nearly 13,000 employees at the end of 2022, are owned by over two million owner-customers. OP Financial Group’s operations are divided into three business segments: Retail Banking (serving personal and SME customers), Corporate Banking (serving corporate and institutional customers), and Insurance (serving insurance customers). OP Financial Group 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 2022 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template by OP Financial Group, 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.

Layout 1

Which Principles for Responsible Banking have been addressed?

The Principles for Responsible Banking addressed in this case are:

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 Finland’s largest financial services group, OP Financial Group engages in open and ongoing dialogue with various stakeholders, underpinned by its long tradition of cooperative values and operating principles. One of the primary principles and objectives of stakeholder engagement through this dialogue is to identify areas for development in OP Financial Group’s corporate responsibility efforts. OP Financial Group maintains regular communication with its external stakeholders via a Stakeholder Forum, which includes representatives from labour market organizations, think tanks, political parties, universities, and non-governmental organizations.

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

In its 2022 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template OP Financial Group reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

OP Financial Group incorporates social responsibility and environmental considerations into its financing decisions and actively engages with its clients on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues. ESG analyses are conducted to provide an overview of the business operations of corporate customers, identify their business risks, and offer strategic support for business development.

OP Financial Group uses ESG analysis to assess the environmental, social, and governance risks of customer companies and funded projects based on industry-specific ESG factors. This analysis is part of assessing a company’s creditworthiness and its ability to mitigate critical ESG risks. Additionally, ESG analysis aids in recommending suitable sustainable corporate finance options for OP Financial Group’s customers. OP Financial Group measures the amount of sustainable financing within its sustainability programme, which amounted to 5.2 billion euros in 2022.

 

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 OP Financial Group, 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.op.fi/documents/20556/33242441/UNEP+FI+PRB+Self+Assessment+Template+and+Limited+Assurance+Report+2023/e545e9a5-87f3-e38b-89fe-804da2202171

Note to OP Financial Group: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

The post Case study: How OP Financial Group works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

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