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ENVIRONMENT

 

CASE STUDY INDEX

Leading in the fight against climate change, Nedbank South Africa
In September 2009, The Nedbank Group announced its commitment to go carbon neutral, making it the first South African bank and large corporate to take this landmark step.<

No business can afford to ignore the environmental impact of its operations. This has become increasingly clear in recent years as the full extent of the threat posed by climate change becomes evident. At Old Mutual we have two major impacts as a business: direct impacts through the running of our offices and branches, and indirect impacts through the kinds of investments and purchasing decisions that we make.

To minimise environmental impacts where practical, business units must:

  • Set targets and monitor measures to reduce their energy and water use and the waste they generate in each of their locations. This is to aid the Group with reducing its carbon footprint.
  • Create awareness to aid employees in understanding their impacts and their role in minimising these.
  • Consider environmental impacts as part of their investment decision process.

Our main operational impacts are energy use, water consumption and waste creation and we are working to improve our understanding of the size of these impacts and how to reduce them where possible. We work to engage and influence our employees, our customers and suppliers to reduce their impact on the environment through educational initiatives, products and supply chain management.

Managing the environmental impact of our operations

To help us manage our direct environmental impact, many of our sites now have their own structured Environmental Management System (EMS) in place. Each EMS has a monitoring system in place and performance data is collated and compared to the site targets. Data disclosure occurs at both OMSA and Nedbank through their individual reports.  

Minimising the environmental impact of our operations

Energy

We are now able to track and centrally report energy use at many of our sites and for the past two years now we have undertaken a public Group-wide carbon footprint study as part of our Carbon Disclosure Project submission. Read our 2009 submission.

Climate change is a huge issue that we believe can only be tackled in a collaborative way. We signed the Poznan Communiqué at the end of 2008, and have recently signed the Copenhagen Communiqué calling for an equitable deal ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in December. The initiative led by the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change calls for agreement on principles and mechanisms that will form the basis of a new climate change agreement to come into place after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Waste

We track both the amount of waste produced on our sites and the amount we recycle, and regularly report this information to the Board.

There are recycling systems in place across many of our offices. We ensure that offices try to recycle office equipment that is no longer required rather than throwing it away. For example, at our head office, when renewing our hardware, old PCs are cleared of memory so that they can be donated to charities or schools.



Managing the impact of investment decisions
One way that we impact the environment indirectly is through the decisions we make about the kinds of companies and projects that we will or will not invest in. As well as assessing financial risk, we need take account of the reputational risks associated with financing deals that might have a negative environmental impact, for example if they involve significant deforestation or heavy pollution.

Nedbank Group was the first African bank to adopt the Equator Principles, which is a set of international guidelines for banks to ensure that the projects they finance are developed in a socially responsible and environmentally sound manner.

Old Mutual makes it onto the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index

In 2009, we ranked in the top 10% of the FTSE350 on how we disclose our approach to carbon management and reduction. We managed this success and to increase our score in a year when the requirements were tightened and the Index was combined to include industries from both intensive and non-intensive sectors.

As a separately listed entity Nedbank submitted their own report and topped the Johannesburg CDP Leadership Index, with a score of 90.

For more information on the CDP and the Leadership Index please see the 2009 report.

Case Studies

Leading in the fight against climate change, Nedbank South Africa

In September 2009, The Nedbank Group announced its commitment to go carbon neutral, making it the first South African bank and large corporate to take this landmark step.  The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), Nedbank's conservation partner, will advise the Bank on the execution of its carbon neutrality strategy. Climate Change Programme manager at WWF, Richard Worthington, reflects, "The WWF supports and applauds Nedbank's initiative as the first step in becoming part of the transformation to a low carbon economy. However, offsetting of emissions is a complex field, requiring rigorous assessment of the full impacts. The WWF is committed to working in partnership with Nedbank to support a robust approach to achieving optimal benefits of this carbon neutral initiative."