Corporate Responsibility Statement 2009
In this, our sixth successive Corporate Responsibility report, we give an insight into some of the activity taking place throughout the Group that demonstrates our commitment to the principles of good Corporate Citizenship.
Playing our part in the Marketplace
Under the terms of the Government Recapitalisation, which was completed for Bank of Ireland in March 2009, the recapitalised banks have committed to the introduction of a number of marketplace initiatives to stimulate growth in the Irish economy. Bank of Ireland has committed to the following initiatives already launched or planned, including;
- A €1bn mortgage fund for first-time buyers was launched in February 2009, re-confirming the Bank's commitment to increase its mortgage lending capacity by 30%. This new fund will enable up to 4,000 new home purchases in 2009 and is backed by a market-leading rate. Following significant promotional activity, we have already begun to see an increase in mortgage applications from first-time buyers.
- Bank of Ireland is committed to increase lending capacity to small and medium enterprises by 10% in 2009. In December 2008, BoI launched a new Business Support Fund of €250m to provide flexible finance to small businesses and help them trade through the current climate. To date, more than 400 customers have been supported through this fund.
- A €100m Environmental and Clean Energy Innovation Fund was established by Bank of Ireland in February 2009. Since this launch, two further environmental initiatives were introduced, namely a Small Business Green Fund for Businesses engaged in environmental improvements and a Green Loan, aimed at homeowners, for environmental home improvements. These initiatives build on the work of experienced Specialist Project Finance teams in Business Banking and Corporate Banking who have active renewable energy portfolios already in place.
- Statutory codes of practice on business lending and mortgage arrears were announced by the Central Bank of Ireland in February 2009. Bank of Ireland is committed to the implementation of these codes within agreed timeframes.
- Bank of Ireland is continuing to improve the transparency of its customer communications. All customer-facing material is being reviewed to meet 'simple English' and transparency objectives set out in recent regulatory directives and the recapitialisation statement.
- To improve financial inclusion, work has already begun on a Basic Bank Account to meet the needs of groups of people who do not ordinarily operate a bank account. Next steps will involve an industry-wide approach as part of the National Payments Implementation Programme.
- To address the increased needs of business and personal customers in the current environment, Bank of Ireland has recently launched its web-based Financial Advice Centre.Further developments on financial education will follow the conclusion of the Central Bank of Ireland's Financial Capability Study and the publication of the Report of the Steering Group on Financial Education.
Playing our part in the Community
Give Together
Give Together is a major community investment initiative, introduced by Bank of Ireland in March 2007, which has fundamentally changed the way in which the organisation supports good causes. Central to the initiative was a desire to create an environment where volunteering is actively encouraged
Every Bank of Ireland employee is given a day to volunteer for the cause of their choice each year, to encourage those who wish to get involved in their communities, but who do not always have the time. In addition to their volunteer day, employees can avail of matched funding when they are involved in fundraising for a community or charitable organisation. Where employees are involved in team-based volunteering, they can also avail of additional funding to help get their project off the ground.
To date, over 5,200 employees have taken part in Give Together and their volunteer days amount to the equivalent of almost 7 years. With the help of Give Together, our employees have been involved in raising €8.3m for the benefit of over 1,100 different causes.
At Bank of Ireland we believe that employee volunteering on this scale has the potential to transform corporate support for the voluntary sector. Traditionally, charities approach businesses primarily to seek financial support in the form of donations. We believe that the capacity for support is far richer through volunteering if both sides are prepared to see the potential of leveraging an individual's skills, competencies and above all goodwill. We are already seeing this transformation happening in Bank of Ireland and we have many examples of our employees using core business skills for the benefit of their selected cause.
Millennium Scholars Trust
Introduced in 2000 to mark the Millennium, the Bank of Ireland Millennium Scholars Trust is now entering its tenth and final year of awarding scholarships to students experiencing barriers to further education. To date, the Trust has committed over €8m and has supported a total of 574 students in furthering their education at third-level, with over half of these having already graduated. Bank of Ireland employees also volunteer their time to act as mentors to the scholars, which helps to develop the skills and strengths of the scholars as they progress through their studies.
Financial Education
Bank of Ireland has joined forces with Junior Achievement Ireland and will be launching a co- branded financial education programme in 2009/10 for 2nd Level schools all around Ireland. The programme will educate transition year and 5th Year school students on money management skills that they will need as they move on to their working lives and to help them understand the economics of life e.g. budgeting, understanding where credit is appropriate, how to compare credit offers, etc. The programme is made up of 5 or 6 sessions where the students are taught through role playing and scenario games. Volunteers from Bank of Ireland will present the education programme to the students in the nominated schools.
Social Finance Initiative
The Social Finance Foundation was created in 2006 with seed capital of €25m from the Irish Banking Sector. It provides funding to Social Lending Organisations (SLO's), which in turn make microfinance available for borrowers. Bank of Ireland has worked closely with the Social Finance Initiative to help develop a sustainable model of funding over the next 3 years.
Bank of Ireland National Student Awards
For the past 14 years, The Bank of Ireland National Student Awards has provided junior and second-level schools with the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievement of pupils who have excelled in different categories at local, regional and national level. The awards are open to all secondary school students in Ireland and this year 42% of schools are participating. To date, Bank of Ireland has committed €240,000 to the awards and, while the financial aspect of the award is important, it is the recognition and opportunity for celebration that makes these awards memorable for the students, their schools and families alike.
All who were present will never forget the night and I thank all at the Bank of Ireland for all the great memories they have given us. Thank you for caring for us from entrants to finalists" John J Walsh, Principal Greenhills College, Limekiln Avenue, Dublin
Playing our part in the workplace
Employee Engagement
Following six years of an Employee Engagement Programme that saw a consistent rise in levels of engagement across the Group, we have completed a strategic review of the process to ensure that the Group continues to improve and build upon what has been achieved to date. Based on this review, we remain committed to Employee Engagement and we are developing a new method of measurement, which is more meaningful and actionable for the organisation into the future.
Learning and Development
At Bank of Ireland Group we know that the capability of our staff is one of the critical pillars of future success and the ability to rapidly upskill and train staff in line with changing demands is a required organisation capability. Our Learningzone service has delivered in excess of 19,000 student days of classroom training and over 50,000 e-learning programmes during 2008/09. Through our continued investment in the development and delivery of a broad range of programmes focused on building capability in core banking, business and leadership skills, we support the development of high performing individuals and teams that meet the expectations of our customers, regulators and other key stakeholders.
Speak Up Policy
We recognise that the success of our business and our reputation depends on our employees doing the right thing. The Group has introduced a Speak Up Policy which is designed to reassure employees that it is safe and acceptable to speak up about concerns they may have. Employees are encouraged to speak to their line manager in the normal way, but it also sets out alternative routes to raise a concern, including the provision of free confidential advice from Public Concern at Work, an independent authority which seeks to ensure that concerns about malpractice are properly raised and addressed in the workplace.
Playing our part in the Environment
ISO14001
Bank of Ireland first received ISO14001 certification for its Customer Operation Centre in 2005 and has recently retained this certification following an extensive audit process completed by Certification Europe at the end of 2008. Bank of Ireland is the only financial institution in Ireland to have received this external validation for the environmental management systems in one of its buildings. The Bank continues to benefit from our participation in this programme through improved processes for managing and reducing our waste production and energy consumption in one of our main paper and energy consuming sites.
IS393
As part of the preparatory work for the ISO14001 audit, consideration was given to extending the programme to other large sites across the Group. Our review concluded that Bank of Ireland's largest single direct impact on the environment is through its purchase and usage of energy; therefore it was decided to concentrate our focus on energy management through the adoption of the IS393 energy standard. This will become the standard across all main administration locations over time. Implementation will be on a phased basis, commencing in late 2010 with the two highest consumption sites, and then extending to our other sites. This will involve communication to staff around the principles involved, actively pursuing these initiatives and strong commitment from Senior Management. As part of our participation, the goal will be to boost awareness of the initiative with employees, create a culture of continuous improvement around our energy management and encourage behaviours that will have a tangible benefit for the Group and the Environment.
Automatic Shutdown of PC's
Based on studies indicating that PCs use an average idle consumption of between 60 and 100 watts per hour, we have recently implemented the capability to automatically shut down branch network PCs at a defined time each night. This vastly reduces power consumption and carbon footprint across our branch network while also significantly reducing our costs and CO2 emissions. Plans are underway to extend this capability to remaining areas of the Group in 2009.
IBF Climate Change Principles
Bank of Ireland participated in a working group of The Irish Banking Federation (IBF) to develop a new set of Climate Change Principles. The Principles are designed to demonstrate our support for measures in Ireland which help to promote environmental sustainability and mitigate climate change. These Principles provide a broad framework within which each institution will seek, in accordance with its own commercial and other considerations, to operate its business in support of climate change mitigation and environmental sustainability.
In summary, 2008/09 marked further progress in the Group's Corporate Responsibility Programme. We look forward to reporting continued progress in the coming year.