Standard Bank Launches Its First ‘Report to Society’ – and gains Carbon Neutral status

29 June 2022

Standard Bank Offshore Group has released its first ‘Report to Society’. The important milestone outlines the progress and future intentions the Bank has to positively impact societies, economies, and environments in the Isle of Man, Jersey and across Africa.

The report identifies what the organisation has achieved over the last few years and tells the story of its progress across four impact areas; climate change and sustainable finance; job creation and enterprise growth; education; and health.

It also highlights several areas of work including becoming a UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man Partner, in which both employer and employees have pledged to protect natural resources, engage with local communities through volunteering and fundraising efforts and make a positive environmental impact where possible.

Other recent Isle of Man projects have included tree planting with a charity partner, the Isle of Man Woodland Trust, supplying over 3,300 trees for the charity to plant and joining forces with local charity Beach Buddies to clean the Island’s beaches. Standard Bank Isle of Man employees have also volunteered with local charity Isle of Play to clear several outdoor adventure areas. All employees are gifted two volunteering days each year to support local initiatives.

In 2021 the Group organised a corporate entry for the Send a Cow Relay for Hope, a virtual relay fundraising event to provide life-saving hygiene training to families as part of the Send a Cow response to coronavirus in rural Africa. Over six weeks, 82 employees from the Isle of Man, Jersey and South Africa collectively ran, walked, or cycled 5,400 miles, raising more than £14,000.

The Group has implemented innovative methods to address Social, Economic and Environmental (SEE) challenges, this includes partnering with specialists for expert guidance, mobilising Corporate Social Investment funds and engaging its 450-person workforce through employee-led action groups targeting key impact areas.

In 2021, the Group engaged with sustainability experts, ClimatePartner UK, to calculate its Corporate Carbon Footprint (before the impact of Covid-19) and to form a group-wide climate action strategy, with the goal to become a net-zero organisation by the end of 2030. As a first step in this journey, Standard Bank Isle of Man reached certified Carbon Neutral status, offsetting with projects aligned to its purpose, Africa.

Chris Till, CEO of Standard Bank Isle of Man, said: ‘We are committed to doing the right business, in the right way and in line with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, of which we are a founding signatory. The Group’s indicators of impact and success are far broader that our financial results, which is why we wanted to ensure that social, economic, and environmental areas had the same level of importance and focus as all our value drivers, which include financial outcome, client focus, operational excellence, risk and conduct and employee engagement.

‘As a multi-jurisdictional organisation, it is important that we are fully transparent with our employees, industry, peers and wider communities - and the Report to Society was commissioned to demonstrate the Group’s SEE work to date. It is vitally important that our employees are aware that their work is contributing positively to society, and we hope this first of its kind report captures this.’

For further information on Standard Bank Offshore Group’s SEE work and to read the Report to Society, visit the link here.