Sustainability

SpareBank 1 SMN aims to contribute to society's value creation through responsible banking operations that instil public confidence in the bank. We follow the UN's sustainable development goals and we have joined the UN's principles for responsible banking.

What is sustainability?

Sustainable development means meeting our own needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

The term covers environmental, social and economic resources, also referred to as governance. When we talk about ESG, it it these three areas we are referring to.

We work broadly with all 17 of the UN's sustainable development goals, though some have been identified as more relevant for us as a financial institution.

In addition to reducing our own emissions, we contribute to research into new, climate positive solutions through SINTEF's Global Climate Fund.

Responsible banking

We adhere to UN's principles for responsiple banking and our sustainability profile is rootet in our values. Responsible is the most important guideline.

You can find further information on how we work with sustainability in our sustainability library.

Sustainability library

Principles, commitments and memberships

As one of five Norwegian banks, we have joined the UN's principles for responsible banking. The purpose of the new principles is to contribute to the financial sector developing in line with the UN’s sustainable goals and the Paris agreement.

Press release about the initiative

This is the world's largest initiative for corporate social responsibility. We use the principles behind Global Compact as the basis of our strategy on corporate social responsibility, and it is anchored in the groups other strategies.

We are a member of Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) – a global partnership between financial institutions working towards harmonizing estimations, measures and information about climate gas emissions financed by loans and investments.

Part of our responsibility as an eco-lighthouse certified business is that we are concious our environmental responsibility and implement measures internally.

Greenwashing refers to unsubstantiated marketing claims that make people believe your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is. We strive to avoid this, and together with all our subsidiaries we have signed the Guide Against Greenwashing.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets.

We are a member of The Green Shipping Programme, a public-private partnership. The overarching goal of the programme is to contribute to achievable solutions that ensure efficient and environmentally friendly shipping.

Our sustainability strategy is built on our values, with responsible being the most important guideline. We have prioritised six of the seventeen UN sustainability goals that will be particular focus areas of our work.

Inspired by sustainability goal number 17, partnerships for the goals, we invite cooperations and sharing of experiences, both with partners and competitors.

If you have any question concerning how we work with sustainability, please do not hesitate to contact our Head of Sustainability, Jan-Eilert Nilsen.