In a serie of cross-divisional workshops in 2017, Commerzbank had developed the sustainability programme with a total of 100 short, medium and long-term targets which the Bank was striving to implement until 2020.
Below is the complete 2017 program with details regarding the achievement of its objectives, broken down into the three fields of action of the Bank's sustainability management.
100 goals en route to becoming Germany's most sustainable commercial bank
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Sustainable Corporate Governance
Compliance: Fraud prevention and anti-corruption
| 1.1 | Ongoing validation and improvement of methods for the early identification of fraud risks, including the further development of data mining applications and decryption technologies in line with the requirements of data protection law | ongoing |
Compliance: Compliance management
| 1.2 | Establishment of a Global Financial Crime Unit by the end of 2017 in order to further improve the global exchange of information within the Financial Crime Organisation of the Commerzbank Group, carry out global investigations and projects in connection with financial crime and effectively address the globalisation of financial crime | completed |
| 1.3 | Revision and further development of the Group-wide compliance policy framework by the end of 2017 | completed |
| 1.4 | Establishment of compliance coordination functions in all segments to reduce business specific risks by 2018 | completed |
Compliance: Sanctions and embargos
| 1.5 | Development of coordinated standards between banks and supervisory authorities for the handling of payments for humanitarian projects in sanctioned countries (in the European Banking Federation) in compliance with the law | completed |
| 1.6 | Expansion of risk-based checks in the documentary credit business by 2018 | completed |
Data protection
| 1.7 | Close involvement of the data protection and data security units of Commerzbank from an early stage in the digital transformation of Commerzbank with the goal of making innovative technologies safely available in the context of digitalisation | ongoing |
| 1.8 | Certification of the Commerzbank information security management system under the ISO 27001 standard by the end of 2018 | suspended |
| 1.9 | Early implementation of the legal requirements under the EU Data Protection Regulation and the revised Group Data Protection Policy by 2018 | completed |
| 1.10 | Commerzbank actively contributes to working groups and initiatives to promote the development of data protection and information security in the industry | ongoing |
Employees: Diversity and equal opportunity
| 1.11 | Inclusion of Commerzbank in the "Gender DAX" again in 2017 | completed |
| 1.12 | Funding of up to EUR 120,000 for activities of the eight employee networks in Commerzbank | ongoing |
| 1.13 | Confirmation of the "Audit Beruf und Familie" (Career and Family Audit) in 2017 | completed |
| 1.14 | Development of a "Disability" action plan to promote inclusiveness in Commerzbank by 2018 | completed |
| 1.15 | Increasing the share of women in management positions to 17.5% on the first management level, 20% on the second management level, and 35% across all management levels by the end of 2021 | in process |
| 1.16 | Participation of 500 employees and managers in the Commerzbank diversity events by 2018 | completed |
Employees: Health and safety
| 1.17 | Performance of regular risk assessments in Commerzbank AG Germany in the context of a preventive approach to employees' psychological and physical health | completed |
| 1.18 | The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), available to 100% of all employees of Commerzbank AG Germany and the 100% subsidiaries as well as dependants living in their households, provides comprehensive health advice in case of occupational and personal challenges | completed |
| 1.19 | Availability of a regular health check-up for 100% of senior staff of Commerzbank AG Germany in the form of a thorough one-day medical examination | ongoing implementation |
Employees: Employee engagement
| 1.20 | Secondment of up to 1,000 employees from across the Bank to the Digital Campus by 2018 for direct participation in shaping Commerzbank 4.0 | completed |
| 1.21 | Development and implementation of conditions for Working World 4.0 by 2020, for example the adaptation of personnel management instruments, shared leadership, increased working time flexibility, technology for mobile work | completed |
| 1.22 | Regular management and employee surveys and assessment of possible recommendations for action, in particular the Bank-wide employee survey in 2017 on strategy, corporate culture, employee attitudes, etc. | completed |
Employees: Training and development
| 1.23 | Development of a training format to reinforce a "Culture of Integrity" throughout the Group by 2017 | completed |
| 1.24 | Ongoing development and adaptation of training formats with regard to new contents on trends and the related challenges, e.g. digitalisation, adaptability, including the adoption of modern learning methods | in process |
| 1.25 | Empowerment of 100% of employees working in the campus to use agile working methods | in process |
| 1.26 | 100% of managers on levels 1 and 2 to be informed annually of political, economic, social and cultural megatrends within the framework of the management dialogue, including identification of measures in response to the megatrends for own areas of responsibility in cooperation with the Management Advisor | suspended |
Employees: Compensation and employee benefits
| 1.27 | Development of a systematic concept for inclusion of sustainability criteria in the selection and development of employee benefits | started |
| 1.28 | Offer of pre-configured electric car for all employees entitled to a company car | completed |
| 1.29 | Regular check of compensation system to ensure competitive and attractive conditions for employees | completed |
| 1.30 | Ensuring competitive compensation through the implementation of target group-based compensation brackets based on career levels and career paths | completed |
| 1.31 | Improvement of equal opportunities for men and women by enhancing the flexibility of the "Keep in Touch" model | completed |
Employees: Work-life balance
| 1.32 | Providing up to 2.6 million euros to implement measures in the interests of a better work-life balance for families in 2017 | completed |
| 1.33 | Implementation of measures for 100% of managers and employees to avoid the health risks of an "always on" working culture | ongoing implementation |
| 1.34 | Completion of scientific evaluation of the quality services in Commerzbank childcare offerings by 2018 | completed |
Sustainability management: CR reporting and ratings
| 1.35 | Top 20% placement in the banking sector in sustainability ratings in Europe and the world by 2020 | ongoing implementation |
| 1.36 | Expansion of active participation in important sustainability ratings | ongoing implementation |
| 1.37 | Bring about full transparency on sustainability performance of material subsidiaries by 2020 | in process |
Participation in public policy development
| 1.38 | Establishing a regular stakeholder dialogue on social and economic issues in order to discuss the Bank's role in society | ongoing implementation |
| 1.39 | Conducting an information event for analysts, rating agencies and representatives of NGOs by 2018 to highlight Commerzbank's participation in public policy development | completed |
Reputational risk management
| 1.40 | Expansion of internal training and awareness-raising measures on reputational risk management | ongoing implementation |
| 1.41 | Regular updates of positions and directives | ongoing implementation |
| 1.42 | Ongoing tracking of socially and environmentally relevant issues and processes and their inclusion where appropriate in reputational risk management (early recognition) | ongoing implementation |
| 1.43 | Regular optimisation of reputational risk management strategy as part of overall risk strategy | ongoing implementation |
| 1.44 | Continual development of the voting and reporting processes of reputational risk management | ongoing implementation |
| 1.45 | Intensified communication with relevant external stakeholders and NGOs on social and environmental risks | ongoing implementation |
Markets and Clients
Emissions trading
| 2.1 | Annual consultation for corporate clients on current international developments with regard to emissions trading and carbon pricing inside and outside the European Union | ongoing implementation
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| 2.2 | Implementation of first advisory mandates on climate neutrality for Commerzbank clients in 2017 | ongoing implementation |
| 2.3 | Promotion of supranational discussion and cooperation on carbon pricing standards | ongoing implementation |
Helping to shape the energy transition
| 2.4 | Providing 2.5 billion euros for direct or indirect financing of renewable energy sources through new Commerzbank business by 2020 | completed |
| 2.5 | Actively working to inject the financial market perspective into discussions in forums and dialogue platforms relevant to the success of the energy transition | ongoing implementation |
| 2.6 | Significantly improve transparency on existing public subsidy programmes with our corporate clients by the end of 2017 | ongoing implementation |
| 2.7 | Significantly speed up the application process for public subsidy programmes by the end of 2018 | completed |
| 2.8 | Steadily expand the volume of loans disbursed to our corporate clients under the KfW energy efficiency programme | ongoing implementation |
Financial inclusion
| 2.9 | Maintaining branch density in Germany: 70 percent of our clients are within 10 kms of the nearest Commerzbank branch. | ongoing implementation |
| 2.10 | 100% coverage with talking ATMs at Commerzbank branches by 2018 | completed |
| 2.11 | Using understandable and solution-oriented language in customer communications: continual improvement of communication tools and product information for customers with a minimum readability index based on the specific information category (basis: Hohenheim Understandability Index for German texts) | ongoing implementation |
Green bonds
| 2.12 | Active support of development of the green bond market through regular implementation of and participation in workshops and information events and as a member of various green bond interest groups | ongoing implementation |
| 2.13 | Support for our clients in preparing and placing green bond transactions | ongoing implementation |
Lending business with retail customers
| 2.14 | Ensuring repayment quota of 99% p.a. in the long term as proof of responsible lending in the private mortgage business | completed |
Customer dialogue and customer support
| 2.15 | Development of web-based training for advisors with a focus on sustainable investments by 2018 | not yet started |
| 2.16 | Further development of the Customer Compass for retail customers by the end of 2018, based on the regulations in the DIN standard for "comprehensive private financial analysis" expected to be released as of 2018 | ongoing implementation |
| 2.17 | Continual development of measures and formats for involving customers in the development of new products and services | ongoing implementation |
Customer communication
| 2.18 | Increased marketing communication on sustainability and sustainable finance | ongoing implementation |
| 2.19 | Increasing transparent communication: Further reduction in restrictive disclaimers / footnotes | ongoing implementation |
| 2.20 | Inclusion of relevant certifications / seals of approval on all printed materials by 2020 | completed |
Customer satisfaction
| 2.21 | Securing top annual placements of Commerzbank in important independent rankings on customer satisfaction and the quality of customer advice | ongoing implementation |
| 2.22 | Net Promoter Score (customer satisfaction standard) of over 45% on an ongoing basis | ongoing implementation |
Asset management
| 2.23 | Further expansion of sustainable asset management product offerings by 2018 | ongoing implementation |
| 2.24 | Triple the share of sustainable investments in the total volume of assets under management for retail customers by 2020 | completed |
| 2.25 | Formulating a target value for the percentage of sustainable product components across all product groups by 2018 | in process |
Securities
| 2.26 | Launch of up to five new sustainable funds for retail customers by 2018 | completed |
| 2.27 | Establishment of transparency on the carbon footprint associated with the retail fund products by 2018 | suspended |
| 2.28 | Development of a sustainability model portfolio in the PremiumFondsDepot by 2019 (proviso: if possible with appropriate asset allocation by 2019) | completed |
| 2.29 | Launch of a sustainable ETF by the end of 2017 | completed |
| 2.30 | Launch of several securities-based savings plans with sustainable investment funds for retail customers by 2018 | ongoing implementation |
Environment and Society
Environment: Energy and emissions
| 3.1 | Expansion of LEED certification of owned properties, subject to ecological and economic criteria | suspended |
| 3.2 | Consideration of resource efficiency in all new construction and leased properties | ongoing implementation |
| 3.3 | Annual budget of at least EUR 200,000 to fund energy efficiency measures in buildings | ongoing implementation |
| 3.4 | Increased use of LED technology in branch and office properties when economically appropriate | ongoing implementation |
| 3.5 | Contractual incentives for external facility management service providers to introduce energy saving measures by 2017 | completed |
| 3.6 | Development of a new climate target by 2019 | completed |
| 3.7 | 70 % reduction of CO2 emissions of Commerzbank AG Germany by 2020 vs. baseline year of 2007 | completed |
| 3.8 | 8 % reduction of energy consumption by 2020 vs. baseline year of 2014 | completed |
Environment: Green IT
| 3.9 | As of 2018, Commerzbank will apply energy efficiency as a criterion in all data centre tender processes | completed |
| 3.10 | As of 2018, Commerzbank will apply energy efficiency as a criterion in all large IT tender processes | completed |
Environment: Customer communication
| 3.11 | Significant improvement of sustainability of all marketing communication to our corporate customers by 2020 | ongoing implementation |
| 3.12 | By 2020 the range of materials will consist of 65 % sustainable advertising articles. The subscription of materials will be incrementally optimised in terms of CO2 emissions | started |
| 3.13 | The paper-based calendars and cards will be reduced by 30 % by 2020 | completed |
Environment: Mobility
| 3.14 | Adding sustainability information to travel planning applications (e.g. CO2 emission comparisons of modes of transport) by 2018 | suspended |
| 3.15 | From 2018, all international contract hotels of the Bank must have an environmental programme in place to be included in the hotel programme (implemented in Germany in 2017) | completed |
| 3.16 | Introduction of a permanent electromobility offering for leasing vehicles / Bank cars available to non-pay scale employees by the end of 2017 | completed |
| 3.17 | Promotion of environmentally friendly vehicles in company leasing through continual review of bonus/malus regulation | ongoing implementation |
Environment: Resources
| 3.18 | Completion of awareness raising measure for employees on environmentally friendly resource consumption in 2017 | completed |
| 3.19 | Use of environmentally friendly coffee cups in all German locations by 2018 | completed |
| 3.20 | Increase in sustainable options in canteens and heightened employee awareness | completed |
Social responsibility
| 3.21 | Development of a methodology to quantify the value contribution of our social commitment by 2020 | completed |
| 3.22 | Develop pro bono concept by 2018 and complete pilot project by 2020 | started |
| 3.23 | Increase quota of employees taking part in loose change initiative to 50% by 2020 | ongoing implementation |
| 3.24 | By the end of 2020, Commerzbank will pay out a total of 1 million euros within the programme “Das Grüne Band” to 200 prize winners (associations) as funding for the development of young talents provided directly to the associations | ongoing implementation |
