Sustainability governance
As a bank we have a responsibility for how we conduct our business, what we finance and what we invest in. With a clear governance structure, internal policies and in line with our commitments we ensure that our efforts are implemented throughout the Group.
Governance structure
The Board of Directors is responsible for establishing a strategy for corporate sustainability and an organisation to execute this strategy. SEB's sustainability endeavours are an integral part of the business and are regularly included on the Board's agenda, together with an annual review of policies and instructions. The Board approves SEB's strategy and business plan, including sustainability considerations, the Sustainability Policy, thematic policies and the Sustainability Report. Sector policies are approved by the Board's Risk and Capital Committee.
The President and Chief Executive Officer (President) is responsible for execution of the sustainability strategy and implementation of the governance structure set by the Board.
The Group Executive Sustainability Committee (GESC), chaired by the President, is a group-wide decision-making body that manages the execution of the corporate sustainability strategy and addresses matters related to corporate sustainability activities in SEB.
The Group Risk Committee (GRC), chaired by the President, is a group-wide decision-making body that addresses all types of risk at the group level, including sustainability and reputational risks.
The Chief Sustainability Officer is a member of the extended Group Executive Committee (GEC), the GESC and GRC, and is also Head of Sustainable Banking.
Sustainable Banking is responsible for coordinating and driving the overall sustainability agenda in close collaboration with the divisions, group staff and support functions.
Assessment of new products
The Sustainability Product Committee (SPC) centralises assessments of new products and decides on the right for SEB units to use any sustainability reference in the marketing or distribution of products or services, such as, reference to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Taxonomy. The Environmental and Sustainable Product Steering Committee (ESPSC) is a sub-committee of the SPC and decides on the eligibility of assets for the SEB Group's sustainability-related funding programmes.
Procedures and controls
Each Head of Division, Head of Group Support function and Head of Group Staff function is responsible for ensuring that procedures and controls are in place to implement and follow up sustainability objectives, and that strategy and policies set by the Board, the President and the GESC are adhered to. The Sustainability Business Risk Committees in the divisions assess and decide on new customers or transactional proposals from a sustainability risk perspective before bringing the onboarding or transaction for decision by the relevant decision-making body.
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SEB's sustainability experts have extensive knowledge in areas such as climate and financing solutions, sustainable investments and regulatory development in the European Union.