environmental SUSTAINABILITY

NEDBANK’S APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

As outlined in section 1, the Group Transformation and Sustainability Committee, a committee of the Nedbank Board, is responsible inter alia for monitoring and refining the environmental policies and ensuring that these are integrated into the Nedbank Group philosophy and practice. At an executive level, the Group Executive: Enterprise Governance and Compliance assumes overall accountability for the management of environmental sustainability.

Nedbank Group’s environmental policy confirms our commitment to developing an environmental protection and conservation culture in our own operating environment and among all the parties with whom we have a business association. The policy is aimed at ensuring that the group’s business is conducted in a responsible, fair and honest manner and in keeping with government’s stated objectives in terms of environmental protection. The policy sets out the high-level principles of the Nedbank Board for environmental management across the group and forms part of our operating philosophy, policies, standards and values. Although the group cannot prescribe environmental management policies to its clients and suppliers, it does encourage sound environmental management and compliance with legislation and regulations.

Nedbank seeks to continually improve its environmental management by conducting internal environmental reviews and reporting on progress made in achieving its targets in respect of the integration of environmental sustainability considerations into its operations.

The Environmental Policy is linked to, and bolstered by, the sector guidelines for the mining, property, water, waste management and mergers and acquisitions sectors. The sector guidelines include all the national and international best-practice guidelines and regulatory frameworks that are to be taken into account in a social and environmental assessment of a project related to the specific fields covered by the sector guidelines.

GROUP ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM AND WORKING COMMITTEES

In 2008 Nedbank Group formalised the structure and objectives of our Group Environmental Forum (GEF), chaired by the Group Executive: Enterprise Governance and Compliance.

During 2009 the forum served to:

enhance the effective coordination of environmental initiatives across the group;
provide a recognised platform for information sharing and capturing of synergies;
streamline and facilitate environmental sustainability reporting, communication and marketing; and
play an integral role in shaping the group’s strategy through, inter alia, contributing to the Group Integrated Environmental and Social Business plan for 2010 to 2012.

A number of working committees were established in 2009 to drive the implementation of key environmental sustainability initiatives as identified at the GEF.

The Nedbank Retail Environmental Forum has served to supplement and support the GEF initiatives. A number of working committees were established to drive the implementation of key environmental sustainability initiatives identified at the GEF. The year 2009 saw the following working committees established:

A communication, marketing and sponsorship working committee that considers and advises on requests for environmental sponsorship, media coverage, communication mediums and options with the objective of maximising the impact of our green communications and marketing initiatives.
A technical product and services forum to consider environmental products and service offerings in respect of our own properties and facilities.
A sustainable-travel task team responsible for driving environmentally sustainable alternatives to business travel.
A task team for the standardisation of waste processes.

Nedbank Group’s environmental sustainability credentials

Indices	South African Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index: 2009 overall winner
	Dow Jones World Sustainability Index
	JSE Social Responsibility Index
Awards	Ask Afrika Trust Barometer®, 2009: Leading Green Corporate
	Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards: Finalist in the category ‘Water care’
	Africa Investor: Award for the Best Carbon Finance Initiative
Representation/ Signatory	Equator Principles – First African bank signatory
	UNEP FI: Co-chair: African Task Force and Water and Finance Workstream; Member: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Workstream
	Climate Neutral Network (founding partner)
	United Nations Global Compact – Caring for Climate Programme
	National Energy Efficiency Accord
	National Business Initiative Climate Change Working Group
	University of Cambridge – Prince’s Rainforests Project: Copenhagen Communiqué
	The UNEP FI Statement on Climate Change

Nedbank is represented on the following:

Climate Neutral Network

UNEP FI African Task Force

UNEP FI Water and Finance Workstream

UNEP FI Human Rights Workstream

United Nations Global Compact – Caring for Climate Programme

National Business Initiative Climate Change Working Group

National Energy Efficiency Accord

Banking Association South Africa; Sustainable Finance Committee

UNISA Climate Change Advisory Committee

Developing a reputation as South Africa’s 'green' bank doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of commitment – financial and physical.


	So when, in 2009, we stated our intention to achieve carbon neutrality, and to play a leading role in enabling our country’s transition from a carbonintensive economy to a low-carbon economy, we were seeing a bigger picture. A picture in which the future is a place of abundance. For everyone. And everything.

	Some of our environmental credentials include:


	Dow Jones Sustainability Index The world’s premier performance benchmark for companies in terms of corporate sustainability. Included for the fifth consecutive year and one of only 25 banks worldwide and three companies with primary listings in SA to be included (and the only SA Bank).


	South African Carbon Disclosure Project Leadership Index Ranked first (2009).


	Financial Times Emerging Markets Sustainable Bank of the Year for Middle East and Africa: 2006, 2007, 2008.


	Prince’s Rainforests Project African Chapter Chair. Signatory to the Copenhagen Communiqué.


	Ask Afrika Trust Barometer ® Awards Voted as the company that does the most to address its impact on the environment.


	JSE SRI Inclusion since 2004.


	WWF-SA Conservation partnership.


	African Banker Social Responsibility Award (2009).


	Equator Principles First African bank signatory (since 2005).


	UNEP FI Co-chair on the UNEP FI African Task Force.


	UNEP FI Signatory to official Statement on Climate Change.

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