ING Direct 2007 Annual Report Download - page 31

Corporate responsibility is an integral
part of ING’s business. We want to
pursue profi t on the basis of sound
business ethics, respect for key stakeholders,
and in full compliance with laws, regulations
and ethical standards.
As a global provider of fi nancial products
and services, we realise ING has a direct
and indirect impact on society and the
environment, both through our operations
and the provision of fi nancial services.
In 2007, we took another step forward
towards achieving our objectives in the
four areas covered by our Corporate
Responsibility (CR) strategy: social and
environmental impact of our products and
services, our people, community benefi ts,
and direct environmental impact.
Climate change
We believe ING has a role to play in dealing
with the global threat of climate change,
and in February 2007 we signed the
‘Joint statement by the Global Roundtable
on Climate Change: The Path to Climate
Sustainability’, an initiative of the Earth
Institute at New York’s Columbia University.
Carbon neutral
In 2007, ING pledged action in this area
across its business operations. Most of our
business units now have energy effi ciency
programmes; and in the US, the
Netherlands and several other countries,
all offi ces now use green electricity. By
reducing and/or compensating our global
carbon emissions, ING brought its net CO2
emissions to zero in 2007, to become
‘carbon neutral’.
ING Plant a Tree
Stimulated by growing interest from ING
staff worldwide in environmental issues,
the ‘ING Plant a Tree’ global environmental
awareness programme was launched by
the CEO in Malaysia, where we already
support a rainforest tree-planting
programme to compensate our global
CO2 emissions.
The campaign involves employees in
promoting a cleaner environment and offers
a toolkit to help business units set up their
own ‘ING Plant a Tree’ campaign.
Sustainable products
ING is fully aware of the social and
environmental impact of our products
and services. Nevertheless, trends such as
climate change present not only risks,
but also business opportunities. We have
therefore developed a wide range of
sustainable products and services.
In 2007, these included new offerings
from ING Car Lease, ING Real Estate,
ING Investment Management and other
business units that recognise that
sustainability can generate new business.
Lending policies now public
Over recent years, ING has developed a
strong framework of corporate responsibility
policies to guide our conduct, at the heart
of which stand the ING Business Principles.
These principles apply to all individuals and
businesses, and round them we have
developed a range of in-depth policies to
guide our day-to-day activities. Examples
include ING’s Human Rights Statement,
Environmental Statement and Whistleblower
procedure for complaints and irregularities.
In addition, our internal Lending guidelines
were made public in 2007 and can be seen
on the ING website.
Community commitment
The company-wide ING Chances for
Children programme funds elementary
education in Brazil, Ethiopia and India
through UNICEF. ING matches contributions
from staff and allows volunteers time off
work. The 2007 target to fund a year’s
schooling for 115,000 children (the number
of ING staff worldwide) was exceeded,
with around 125,000 children funded.
Looking forward
ING continues to develop its CR strategy
and practices. For our latest CR initiatives
and developments, visit our corporate
website at www.ing.com/cr.
At ING, we apply various environmental, ethical and
social principles when investing money on behalf of our
customers. In 2007, we decided to launch a website to
give interested stakeholders an accessible and easy-to-
understand overview of where ING stands on various
ethical, environmental and social issues, how we have
addressed ethical dilemmas in the past, and the principles
behind how we invest our customers’ money.
To fi nd out more, visit www.ingandyourmoney.com
How does ING invest
your money?
29
Corporate responsibility
ING Group Annual Review 2007