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?

Sustainability is a key part of SEB’s business plan. We focus on innovating new products and services to meet the increasingly advanced sustainability needs of our customers. In the transformation of our business we classify the credit portfolio and assets under management according to sustainability criteria and strengthen advisory services to assist our customers in their transition. We also continuously develop and strengthen our own policies, we integrate sustainability KPI’s into incentive programmes for senior managers and enhance the knowledge about sustainability among employees.

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?

SEB supports the following international agreements:

The UN Sustainable Development Goals
The Paris Agreement
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The ILO Core Conventions on Labour Standards
The Children’s Rights and Business Principles
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

SEB has joined or publicly endorsed the following principles:

The UN Global Compact
UNEP FI Principles For Responsible Banking
Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI)
The Equator Principles
Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)

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 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 2020 SEB is included in the following*:

Corporate Knights: Global 100
Ethibel Sustainability Index Excellence Europe
FTSE4Good
ISS-Oekom
OMX Stockholm 30 ESG Responsible Index
MSCI
Sustainalytics

* As the only Nordic bank SEB was part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2016–2018. In 2019 SEB decided not to apply for inclusion in the index. This new approach mirrors our ambition to provide comprehensive information available for all stakeholders. By publishing this Q&A document along with additional sustainability web pages and facts and figures, we hope to meet our stakeholders' expectations of transparency.

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 2019, p 36.
Find sustainability-related KPI’s in our Sustainability Fact Book 2019.

Questions & answers - General