Responsibility
LOOKING FORWARD TO GIVING SOMETHING BACK
As a
financial services institution, we operate very much in the public eye.
That brings with it great opportunities but also great
responsibilities. For us, corporate sustainability means managing our
business responsibly in every area and at every level – for customers,
employees, the environment, and the communities in which we live and
work.
Take the environment. In 2008, RBS was one of the
world’s leading global arrangers of finance to renewable energy
projects – predominantly onshore wind, solar and hydro projects. Our
financing for these initiatives represented around 24% of our total
energy financing for that year. By way of comparison, in 2006 only
around 13% of the world’s total primary energy supply came from
renewable sources.
In our day-to-day activities, too, we’ve
made great advances in reducing our ecological footprint. Last year, we
encouraged 1.6 million UK customers to use our ‘go paperless’ facility
for their bank statements. This measure alone saved 240 tonnes of paper
(enough statements to stretch for nearly 6,000 miles). We have also
invested £55 million into our own energy efficiency investment
programme, and taken a number of steps to minimise our environmental
impact. In the UK and Ireland, for instance, we procure 92% of our
electricity from renewable sources.
As always, customers are our
top priority. And in line with our policy of financial inclusion, we
work hard to ensure that everyone has access to the services they need.
In 2008, we opened more than 170,000 Basic Bank Accounts for customers
in the UK. These accounts enable customers with low incomes and poor
financial histories to manage their finances.
Although we make
every effort to ensure our marketing is accurate and clear, we also
believe our responsibility goes way beyond that, which is why we invest
heavily in financial education. Our MoneySense programme not only helps
school children understand how to manage their money, it also provides
free and impartial financial advice to adults. Last year, we introduced
1,000 accredited MoneySense Advisors into our branch network to help
people manage their finances.
Some highlights from 2008
- 3,800 charitable organisations benefited through fundraising, volunteering and payroll contributions.
- Our staff were granted 194,000 hours of business time to support local community projects.
- Our £91 million enterprise loan scheme helped to alleviate poverty for over 566,000 disadvantaged rural households in India.
- 1,000 MoneySense Advisers were introduced to RBS and NatWest branches.
- Over 337,000 MoneySense lessons were delivered to children around the UK, and the programme was extended to Ireland.
- Despite the economic downturn, our lending to business and commercial customers increased by 10%.
- Supergrounds – our volunteering programme - transformed the grounds of 151 primary schools.
- RBS was mandated lead arranger to the world’s largest solar photovoltaic power plant.
- RBS was the first bank in the Middle East to receive a gold level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Key partnerships
MoneySense for Schools is the UK’s largest and longest running programme to teach children about money. Since 2004 alone, more than two million MoneySense lessons have been delivered to pupils, with the figure for 2008 exceeding 337,000.
Supergrounds Awards for primary schools is a six-year community programme funded by the RBS group. Supergrounds Awards transform existing school grounds into attractive and stimulating places where children can learn and play in safety. So far we have helped 900 primary schools worldwide.
The Prince’s Trust has a long-term partnership with the Group. We provide funding to the Prince’s Trust Business Programme, which offers young entrepreneurs loan funding, advice and the support of a business mentor. Since 1983, the Business Programme has helped over 70,000 disadvantaged young people to set up in business. In Scotland, we partner with The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust.
Macmillan Cancer Support is a charity that has received ongoing support from us. In 2008, some 600 employees engaged in a range of activities that helped to raise over £180,000 for people affected by cancer.
Fairbridge helps 13-25 year-olds in disadvantaged areas return to mainstream society. In 2008, 601 RBS employees were involved in fundraising, local events and team challenges to help Fairbridge to continue its work with young people across disadvantaged areas of the UK.
BTCV is the UK’s leading practical conservation charity and our partnership means employees have the opportunity to make a difference to the environment and their local communities.
Barnardo's is one of the UK's leading children's charities and runs over 400 community based projects to support disadvantaged and vulnerable children. The Group recently formed a partnership which provides opportunities for employees, individuals or teams to work directly with children and young people, and take part in exciting challenges and fundraising activities.
Money Advice Trust (MAT) ensures the delivery of professional, high quality money advice training. In 2008, over 5,000 training places were taken up and it is estimated that around 400,000 people benefited from advice delivered as a result of this project. RBS is the leading private sector contributor to the Trust’s work and has pledged £2.15 million to support the expansion of their debt advice services.
Business Debtline provides free, confidential and independent advice to firms with debt problems. RBS remains the leading private sector funder of Business Debtline thanks to a donation of £77,000 in 2008. With this funding, Business Debtline has been able to help over 15,000 businesses in 2008 and its website now receives over 100,000 hits per month.
