Q&A General

Sustainability in SEB

What does sustainability mean to SEB?

The most common definition of Sustainable Development is meeting the needs of today in a way that does not compromise future generations’ ability to meet their needs. To SEB it means that the economic, social and environmental effects are balanced in all business decisions. It also means aligning our strategy to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement.

By doing this we aim to contribute to long term sustainable growth and create value for our customers, shareholders, employees and society at large.

How does SEB work with sustainability?

At SEB, sustainability is a key strategic initiative of the 2019-2021 business plan. This means the bank is undergoing transformative change by:
• Upgrading ways of working through revised sustainability policies, integrating sustainability KPI’s into long-term incentive programmes for senior managers and enhancing the knowledge about sustainability among employees.
• Setting targets and gradual transform our credit and investment portfolios.
• Creating sustainable finance innovation centre to develop and launch new sustainable products and services.

What does that mean in practice?
To be successful in our transformation, sustainability is integrated in our business activities through the sustainability framework, which is built on Responsible and proactive advice, Sustainable financing, Sustainable investments as well as Innovation and entrepreneurship.
Read about our sustainability framework.

International commitments

What sustainability-related external agreements and initiatives has SEB endorsed?

Among the most important are:
• UN Global Compact
• The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, TCFD
• UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking
• Principles for Responsible Investments, PRI
• The Equator Principles

How does SEB relate to the Paris Agreement?

The international climate agreement from the COP21 in Paris 2015 aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. SEB contributes by working to lowering our direct and indirect climate impact and promotes our customers to do the same. We have also signed the UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking which means that we are committed to continue adapting our business strategy to align and contribute to the Paris Climate Agreement.

How does SEB relate to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

We are committed to supporting our customers in their work on transitioning to sustainable solutions. By contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs, we add value directly and indirectly to several of the goals that are clearly linked to our strategy. Read about SEB and the SDG's.

What sustainability-related indices is SEB included in?

In 2019, SEB is included in the following:
• Ethibel Sustainability Index Excellence Europe
• FTSE4Good
• ISS-oekom
• OMX Stockholm 30 ESG Responsible Index
• Euronext Vigeo index: World 120
• MSCI
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index*

* As the only Nordic bank SEB has been part of the index since 2016. Please note that SEB in 2019 has made the active decision not to apply for inclusion in Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The reason is that we have shifted approach – by publishing this Q&A document along with additional sustainability web pages, we offer one platform, aiming at providing the same information to all stakeholders at the same time.

Metrics and targets

Does SEB have sustainability-related metrics and targets?

Yes, we have set up metrics and targets that continuously will be developed and aligned with future national and international requirements and expectations. Metrics and targets are linked to the areas of sustainable financing, sustainable investments, employees, business ethics and our own environmental impact. Moreover, they are being integrated into long-term incentive programmes for senior managers. Among the most important metrics and targets are
• to grow our green loan portfolio,
• gradually shift credit portfolio towards increased sustainable financing and
• increase total assets under management (AuM) managed with sustainability criteria.
Find all our sustainability-related targets in SEB's Annual Report 2018, p 73.
Find sustainability-related KPI’s in our Sustainability Fact Book 2018.

Questions & answers - General