Barclays 2006 Annual Report Download - page 148

Barclays PLC
Annual Report 2006
144
Corporate responsibility
Absa has been addressing access in South Africa through various
means. Portable branches are bringing banking to deprived areas,
enabling a full range of transactions to be handled efficiently. 13 were
opened in 2006. 1.5 million more South Africans were brought into
banking via the Mzansi account, of which Absa continues to be the
leading bank provider. The bank has also implemented its AllPay and
Sekulula services, enabling 2.3 million social grant beneficiaries to
access their payments in four provinces.
We remain the leading private sector supporter of credit unions in
the UK, whilst our pilot of microbanking in Ghana through the
traditional Susu system proved very successful, reaching over 80,000
disadvantaged market traders and supporting the UN Millennium
Development Goals. Work is now under way to develop microfinance
programmes for implementation in other African countries.
Responsible lending
The consumer lending market in the UK has continued to be both
intensely competitive and challenging. Our commitment is to provide
clear and straightforward information to our customers so that they
can readily see the terms and conditions and then make an informed
personal decision. We have further developed the use of summary
information on credit card and personal loan application forms and
statements, to help customers understand our terms and pricing and
also, for example, the implications of making only the minimum
payment on their credit card outstandings.
We are working closely with other banks and finance providers to share
information about how people manage their accounts, in the belief
that this has a key role to play in helping banks assist their customers
through responsible lending practices and customer care. Another
development is to encourage responsible borrowing through the
introduction of our Flexi-Rate™ card, which offers a lower interest rate
to those customers who repay more of their outstanding credit card
balance each month.
Environment and climate change
The effects of climate change constitute the most pressing challenge
to global sustainability and we continue to reflect this in our policies
and actions. As a bank, our impacts are both direct – through our own
operations – and indirect – through our lending and other business
activities with customers and clients.
One of our key initiatives has been to make our UK operations carbon-
neutral. We have achieved this through significant investment in energy
efficiency and through the purchase of renewable energy – 50% of our
UK operations are now being supplied from renewable sources. Part of
our remaining offset of over 200,000 tonnes of CO2is provided through
the purchase of carbon credits in the market, together with a strong
contribution from community-based sustainable energy schemes such
as solar and wind power in Africa and India.
US and Asia 12%
UK 48%
Africa 37%
Europe 3%
Barclays CO2 emissions from energy and travel
We are also helping to combat climate change through the
development of carbon-related products and services, such as our
launch of the first carbon-neutral debit card in the UK. Barclays Capital
continued to support the vital carbon trading market, where it remains
the most active trader. Our Natural Resources Team has provided long-
term finance for over 2,600MW of renewable generating capacity,
including onshore windfarms, landfill gas extraction plants and bio-
diesel conversion plants.
We have committed strongly to the efficient management of our
resources, reducing waste and increasing recycling. We extended our
ISO14001 certified Environmental Management System, with our
operations in France and Absa in South Africa becoming the first major
banks in those countries to achieve such accreditation.
As a result of this activity, we improved our score in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index, retaining our 1st position amongst global
banks for environmental reporting and joint 1st in environmental
performance. In the UK, we achieved 2nd position in the Business
in the Environment Index.
As a co-founder of the Equator Principles, which require banks to
undertake detailed social and environmental impact assessments when
financing projects such as dams and mines, we contributed to the
revision and strengthening of the Principles. The threshold amount
has been reduced from US$50m to US$10m and criteria tightened, such
that they now include more robust procedures for public consultation
and a greater focus on social impacts.
Project finance deals – whole Barclays Group
ABC
Higher Medium Lower Total
Category Risk Risk Risk 2006
Number of project
finance deals 8 10 18 36
Deals completed
or pending 4 9 17 30
– of which, number
where E/S(a) related
changes were made 4 9 17 30
Deals considered, but
not participated in 4116
Projects referred
from EU 6 4 15 25
Projects referred
from Africa 1225
Projects referred
from Asia Pacific 1203
Projects referred
from North America 0213
(a) E/S = Environmental and social issues.
During the year, we updated our internal environmental and social risk
guidance, extending it to over 50 different industry sectors. This
guidance, which was developed with input from environmental NGOs,
now reflects more explicit information on social and other human
rights-related impacts. This review also benefited from our work as the
only bank participating in the Business Leaders’ Initiative on Human
Rights. The guidance has been shared with the United Nations
Environment Programme – Finance Initiative and has been made
available to their 167 members around the world.