Íslandsbanki’s Sustainability Policy aims at making the Bank a model of exemplary operations in the Icelandic business community and a catalyst for positive social action, moving Iceland forward by empowering its customers to succeed.
Íslandsbanki’s Sustainability Policy creates a comprehensive framework for its activities in the area of sustainability. It also maps out the Bank’s Policy for environmental affairs and responsible lending, investments, purchasing, and grants, as well as integrating with and supporting the Bank’s other policies.
The Bank aims to be a leader in the area of sustainable development and a force for good in society. To this end, the Bank intends to initiate broad collaboration on responsible business practices that both contribute to sustainable development in the Icelandic economy and support the Government’s Climate Action Plan while also supporting the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.
Íslandsbanki’s objective is to be a model of exemplary operations within the Icelandic business environment and international criteria related to environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG or sustainability factors). The Bank therefore considers its financial objectives relating to profit and efficiency as well as ESG criteria in its operations:
Íslandsbanki seeks to set a positive precedent by having its actions do the talking, thereby gaining and maintaining customers’ and other stakeholders’ trust. The Bank aims to communicate actively with customers and collaborators concerning responsible business practices, which is one of the keys to ensuring that Íslandsbanki is a force for good in society. The Bank has issued a Sustainable Financing Framework under which loans and investments in its portfolio can be classified as sustainable according to the framework. In particular, attention should be paid to this framework in terms of sustainable product development.
Measurable and timed targets will be set on an annual basis for each goal
Sustainability objectives through 2025 | Secondary objectives for 2023 | Relation to SDGs |
Achieve full carbon neutrality no later than 2040 | Publish net zero sectoral pathways for seafood, agriculture and construction Conduct at least 25 meetings with corporate clients to discuss sustainability and carbon neutrality | Climate action |
Offer our customers green and sustainable products | Increase the portion of sustainable corporate loans in the loan portfolio to 15% Launch at least two new sustainable products for individuals | Quality education Gender equality Industry, innovation, and infrastructure Climate action |
Encourage equality and inclusion through products and services* | Pay special attention to equality and inclusion through customer meetings and seminars Introduce new customer journeys for individuals moving from abroad | Gender equality |
Further increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace* | Íslandsbanki's equality council operationalized during the year. Action plan and targets set and tracked by Management team Bring the share of women employees to 35% in investment banking and to 30% in IT | Quality education Gender equality |
Work with suppliers and partners that champion sustainability | Sustainability assessment of at least 30 of the largest IT suppliers and partners Review suppliers’ code of conduct and increase share of purchasing from suppliers that have signed the code of conduct (or confirmed they have comparable rules) from 45% to >75% | Quality education Gender equality Industry, innovation, and infrastructure Climate action |
Assess sustainability risk, define responsibility, and increase information disclosure | Perform and report on an initial assessment of risks and opportunities related to biodiversity The ESG evaluation of borrowers is currently integrated into the credit process through the credit risk framework. Further develop and implement the ESG evaluation of borrowers. Asses all larger corporates before year end and make ESG risk assessment mandatory for new loans of > ISK150m | Quality education Gender equality Industry, innovation, and infrastructure Climate action |
Place special emphasis on four of the UN SDGs | Increased focus on knowledge building across the organization related to the sustainable development goals as well as sustainable finance Supporting of education for all by donating computer equipment to at least 5 NGOs / educational organisations | Quality education Gender equality Industry, innovation, and infrastructure Climate action |
*To reflect increased focus on products and services that support equality and inclusion the 2025 objectives related to social factors have been reviewed
