Group corporate social responsibility policy

Purpose

This document is guiding for Sparebanken Sør’s work on corporate social responsibility. For Sparebanken Sør, corporate social responsibility is a question of taking shared responsibility for the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of the areas where the Group operates. The Group policy is intended to support employees and managers in their strategic decisions and day-to-day work. This Group corporate social responsibility policy should be viewed in the context of the bank’s Code of Conduct and other internal governing documents.

Scope

The policy and associated guidelines apply to all Sparebanken Sør’s activities, regardless of market, geographical location or customer group.

Objective

The objective of Sparebanken Sør’s work on corporate social responsibility is to generate growth and development in the region in a responsible and sustainable manner. 

Principles and international obligations

Sparebanken Sør is committed to taking account of the climate, the environment and social factors and exercising sound corporate governance in all its activities, including the development of products and services, advisory and sales activities, investment- and credit-decisions, production and operations. Sparebanken Sør must not contribute to infringements of human or employees’ rights, money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, serious environmental damage or other acts that could be perceived as unethical. The obligations and principles as stated below apply to Sparebanken Sør’s own activities. However customers, suppliers and portfolio managers are also expected to comply with these.

International obligations

Sparebanken Sør’s corporate social responsibility is based on recognised international guidelines, including the UN Global Compact.

Principles

Sparebanken Sør’s commitment to sound corporate governance involves:

• maintaining high ethical standards and exercising sound corporate governance
• maintaining open, honest and clear communication with all target groups
• dissociate ourselves from all forms of corruption

Sparebanken Sør’s commitment to the climate and environment involves:

• facilitating measurement, reporting and management of the climate risks that the Group is exposed to through its own operations
• making continuous environmental improvements and complying with authority and specific requirements for the external environment
• promoting increased environmental responsibility, develop and encourage to environmentally friendly and sustainable technology and solutions

Sparebanken Sør’s commitment to corporate social responsibility involves:

• respecting human rights as established in Norwegian law
• identifying risks of any potential or actual infringements of human rights caused by Sparebanken Sør
• engaging in dialogue with affected parties and other stakeholders, or in collaboration with other parties, to secure rights to appeal through reasonable processes
• achieving diversity among the Group’s workforce and ensuring that no discrimination takes place based on ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age or gender
• supporting socially beneficial purposes and upholding important social values in the areas in which the Group operates

Process and organisation

Work on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility is regularly reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. Compliance with and knowledge of this Group policy is monitored through annual internal controls. Group management establishes operational goals and measures for corporate social responsibility. All managers at Sparebanken Sør are responsible for contributing to goals and measures to ensure that work on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility is relevant to the Group’s activities. Managers are also responsible for implementing adopted measures and ensuring that all employees within their area of responsibility are aware of these.

Reporting

Sparebanken Sør reports on its work on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in the Annual Report. The bank’s climate accounts are presented each year on the bank’s website and prepared in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, developed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative.