ING Direct 2011 Annual Report Download - page 23

1 Who we are 2 Report of the Executive Board 3 Corporate governance 4 Consolidated annual accounts 5 Parent company annual accounts 6 Other information 7 Additional information
Extending the sustainable product portfolio at ING
Investment Management
In 2011, ING Investment Management (ING IM) launched the
EUR200 million ING (L) Renta Fund – Euro Credit Sustainable.
The new fund invests in euro-denominated debt securities issued
by companies which pursue policies of sustainable development
and adhere to social and environmental norms. With the addition
of this fund to its portfolio, ING IM offers a range of products to
clients who are looking for investments with additional non-
financial risk control and sustainability-linked returns.
Financing bio-gas installations in South Africa and India
Millions of people in developing countries are exposed daily to
toxic fumes caused by primitive cooking conditions, such as
openfires and stoves. In 2011, ING Structured Finance Natural
Resources found a way to help them. Initially, this is being
donethrough a five-year loan from ING to the Dutch-based
FairClimateFund (FCF) to help pre-finance projects to build
bio-gas installations in India and South Africa. Households are
provided with improved stoves and education on energy-efficient
and environmentally friendly cooking techniques. This will not
only create healthier living conditions, but the projects are also
expected to lead to a 150,000-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions
over a period of five years and will generate carbon credits to
finance more projects.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
To earn and maintain the trust of our customers and other
stakeholders, optimal alignment of our commercial and business
decisions with our responsibilities towards them is essential. This
isall the more important in the light of the global debate on the
future of the financial industry.
Our stakeholder engagement strategy is aimed at ensuring ING’s
ability to be a trusted financial services adviser for all its stakeholders.
Stakeholder engagement is integrated across business units and
corporate staff departments and the various activities are aligned
with the company’s business strategy.
Actively participating in debates on the future of finance
In 2011, ING actively participated in public discussions on the
future of the financial sector. The subject has been at the forefront
in the public consciousness around the world and under broad
debate. For instance at the Sustainable Finance Lab at the
University of Utrecht, a series of plenary debates organised by
leading Dutch academics, ING executives made clear that the
company supports measures leading to a more stable financial
system, such as higher capital buffers and more sustainable
remuneration structures. However, they also voiced concerns
about the possible accrual of new regulations. Particularly in the
context of major financing and investment challenges, e.g. those
associated with greening the energy supply, ING argued that the
role played therein by large institutions like ING needs to be taken
into account while the industry’s regulatory framework is
restructured.
AN INCLUSIVE PLACE TO WORK
ING strives to build a healthy relationship with its customers based
on trust and integrity and has strongly embedded this objective
inits people strategy. We continuously work to create the right
environment and strengthen our performance culture based on our
Business Principles. To help achieve this, we have set up a number
of development and training programmes, one of which is part of
the ING International Talent Programme. In particular, we aim
toincrease the diversity of our workforce by creating an inclusive
corporate culture that embraces the differences of our employees.
ING US scores top marks on Corporate Equality Index
In December 2011, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
awarded ING in the US a 100% score on its 2012 Corporate
Equality Index (CEI) for the sixth year running. The Index assesses
850 American companies on their efforts at achieving lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality in the workplace.
While the firms are annually rated on 40 specific policies and
practices, the assessment for 2012 was made on the basis of
additional new stringent criteria on transgender health benefits.
MITIGATING HARM AND PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
CONTRIBUTING TO POSITIVE CHANGE
An essential element of good corporate citizenship is contributing
to positive change, in particular by researching and promoting
thebusiness case for sustainability. We do this by sharing our
knowledge and expertise with customers to help them make better
informed choices about their financial decisions, but also with
regard to investing in sustainable businesses, and by investing
insustainable businesses.
Boosting green energy investments in the Netherlands
andGermany
In September, ING’s Economics Department published the report
‘Renewable energy in the Netherlands until 2020’. The study
investigated the economic potential of renewable energy
projects, demonstrating that wind energy and biomass are
promising sources to make energy production more sustainable.
Moreover, the economists concluded that, to achieve the carbon
emission targets set for 2020, the volume of investments in the
Netherlands is to be scaled up from the current EUR 2 billion to
atleast EUR 10 billion a year. Therefore ING called on the
government, the business community and knowledge institutions
to join forces with ING to formulate a Green Delta Plan.
ING also kick-started its involvement in the offshore wind sector
in Germany with the signing of a EUR 1.047 billion Project
Finance Facility for the Global Tech I Offshore Wind GmbH
project. The project was selected to increase ING’s involvement
inoffshore wind deals. Global Tech I is the largest ever project-
financed offshore wind farm, and in view of the distance to shore
and water depth, multi-contract structure and use of wind
energy converters with a limited track record, one of the most
challenging offshore wind projects in the world.
MITIGATING HARM
With 80 million customers worldwide, the scope of ING’s business
activities has a significant impact on the economy and society.
Toassess whether this impact is consistent with our approach to
sustainability, the sector and company profile of each new business
client coming to the bank or the insurance company is screened
according to our environmental and social risk (ESR) policies. These
policies are a practical translation of our Business Principles and
describe the rules and guidelines for specific industry sectors,
human rights and environmental issues.
ING applies its ESR Framework to manage potentially negative
socio-environmental risks of the transaction or the client
21ING Group Annual Report 2011
Sustainability continued