NLB is the First Bank in Slovenia to Sign the Global UN Principles for Responsible Banking
September 30, 2020
At the end of September, NLB became the first bank in Slovenia to join more than 180 banks from all over the world, signatories of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking. This is a single framework for a sustainable banking industry developed through an innovative partnership between banks worldwide and the United Nations Organisation. In addition to NLB, the signatories include many reputable financial institutions from more than 50 countries on all six continents. The first banks signed the principles exactly a year ago. Since then, the number of signatories has been steadily increasing and expanding to new areas where sustainability is increasingly coming to the fore. NLB will also contribute to the dissemination of the principles, as its group of six member banks from the region of Southeast Europe is joining the signatories in addition to the parent bank.
An important part of the NLB Group mission – besides taking superior care of our customers with our commitment, knowledge and innovative solutions – is also creating a better life, a better future for the whole region in which we operate. The NLB Group strongly believes it can add value to clients, employees and at the same time to the whole society, which is why it embarked on a path of more intensive integration of sustainability into banking operations.
We are extremely proud to be the first Slovene bank to commit to the UNEP FI (United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative) Principles for Responsible Banking.
The Principles for Responsible Banking set out the banking industry’s role and responsibility in shaping a sustainable future and in aligning the banking sector with the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. They also, importantly, encourage the bank to embed sustainability across all its business areas, and to identify where it has the potential to make the most impact in its contributions to a sustainable world, while at the same time opening new business opportunities for the entire NLB Group.
The three key steps required by the principles to continuously improve the impact on the environment and contribute to a better society are the analysis of the current impact on people and planet, setting of targets where the bank can have the most significant impact, their implementation, and public reporting on the progress. The first such reporting on the progress and implementation of the principles in practice must be published by the banks eighteen months after the signing of the principles.
NLB Communications