Side 2
2 SYDBANK / CSR Report 2021
Side 3
Preface Sustainability and social responsibility on the strategic agenda By Karen Frøsig, CEO of Sydbank Sustainability is becoming an ever more important topic in society and in our operations as a bank. The severity of climate change was made clear in the report published in summer 2021 by the UN panel on climate change. There is no longer any doubt that climate change is man-made. However the good news is that something can still be done about the changes – and we as a bank want to contribute. We must remember that sustainability is much more than the climate and CO₂ – and this is why we contin- ue to focus on a wide range of areas relating to sustainability and social responsibility. When you read the CSR report I hope you will gain an insight into the positive trend in the Bank’s sustainability efforts – but also the challenges that our attention was focused on in 2021. There- fore I would like to briefly highlight a couple of the issues that were high on the agenda in 2021 and that will have a significant impact on our sustainability efforts going forward. International endorsements International conventions and agreements are significant players in a sustainable transition. Consequently Sydbank is still a part of and supports the UN Global Compact, which includes 10 prin- ciples on corporate social responsibility and is based on interna- tional conventions and agreements. Sydbank signed the UN’s 6 principles for responsible banking in 2020. Therefore 2021 is the first year that we have reported on our progress on the principles. Progress that has shown us we are on the right track. Proactive efforts in connection with the sustainable agenda are being made. We believe that the new legislative framework together with our international endorsements will serve as a guiding principle for Sydbank’s future work in this area. Greater governance and knowledge about sustainability Sustainability claimed a bigger seat in the boardroom in 2021. According to the Bank’s sustainability and social responsibility policy the Board of Directors is now responsible for approving objectives in the area of sustainability in addition to ensuring that the policy is complied with. Sustainability is a subject that is increasingly addressed in the dialogue with our stakeholders. Consequently we made it a priority in 2021 to devote time and resources to offering all the Bank’s employees basic training in sustainability. Some employ- ee groups were given a deeper insight into and knowledge of sustainable issues of particular relevance to their jobs and several board members completed a training course in sustainability. Karen Frøsig CEO We recognise that sustainability and CSR efforts are here to stay and therefore sustainability has been integrated into the Bank’s strategy for the period 2022-2024. New legislation In 2021 significant focus was on new EU legislation, especially the Taxonomy Regulation, which defines the activities that can be called climate and environmentally sustainable in the future. We welcome legislation that in the long term will help to create greater transparency and a common yardstick in the finance sector and society in general. However we must also admit that reporting under the Taxonomy Regulation is a rather time-con- suming exercise exposing general challenges regarding the underlying data to measure sustainability. Despite considerable efforts in 2021 we are still experiencing challenges in obtaining the required data for reporting on sustainability – and this issue will therefore have our attention also in 2022. CSR Report 2021 / SYDBANK 3
