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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

             
 
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PRINCIPLES

 

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specific principles

 
1.Fair and clear relations with customers
 
2.Promotion of accessibility and financial inclusion
 
3. Environment-friendly business
 
4. Making a responsible contribution to the community
 
5. Responsible employers
 
6. The digital dimension
 
7. Communication
 
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A COMMITMENT TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
 

 

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CASE STUDIES BY COUNTRY
   

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> Making a responsible contribution to the community


Portugal

 
 

Implementation of CGD commitment to sustainable development

Sustainable performance, underpinning CGD’s 135-year history, is reflected in the voluntary adoption of a set of economic, environmental and social commitments. These extend far beyond its legal obligations and needed compliance and engender an overall positive impact at the level of economic and sustainable development, by enhancing competitiveness, internationalization, the innovation capacity of companies, job creation, financial inclusion and the promotion of responsible consumption and renewable energy.
CGD, as a leading market institution and benchmark in promoting best practices in the financial sector, is firmly committed to sustainable development.
CGD currently boasts the most complex, comprehensive and structured sustainability program in the Portuguese financial sector, as has been recognized by outside organizations, both national and international, whether in terms of the monitoring and auditing performed by the latter or through the recognition and awards the program has received:

Latest awards:
  • Carbon Disclosure Project CDP Iberia 125 2011 (Combating Climate Change):
  • "Best Portuguese Company" | "Best Iberian Financial Institution" | Top 6 of the Best Iberian Companies | Inclusion in the CDLI (Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index)
  • ACGE Index 2011 – Climate Responsibility in Portugal: CGD secured first place in the financial sector and ranked second among a total of 82 companies evaluated, in recognition of its commitment to meet the challenges of climate change and a low carbon economy.
  • “Sustainable Development Distinction Award”, greatest progress in relation to 2010 – Heidrick & Struggles and Diário Económico, 2011
  • “Trusted Brand in Environmental Performance” – Reader’s Digest, 2009, 2010 and 2011 https://www.cgd.pt/English/Sustainability/Pages/CGD-Sustainability.aspx

Sustainable performance, underpinning CGD’s 135-year history, is reflected in the voluntary adoption of a set of economic, environmental and social commitments that extend far beyond its legal obligations and needed compliance and engender an overall positive impact at the level of economic and sustainable development, by enhancing competitiveness, internationalization, the innovation capacity of companies, job creation, financial inclusion and the promotion of responsible consumption and renewable energy.
In 2011, CGD strengthened its commitment to sustainability by publishing the 1st Carbon Neutrality Report, which also constitutes the first report of its kind in the Portuguese financial sector.
Environment
During the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All (2012), CGD will continue to implement projects aimed at boosting the institution's energy efficiency and reducing its level of carbon emissions.
Initiatives include a focus on renewable energies, the adoption of low carbon technologies in buildings, innovation in business processes, mobility, efficient management of the solar thermal station at CGD's head office in Lisbon (1600m2) and photovoltaic solar panels in approximately 90 branches of the bank’s network, in addition to appropriate waste management, based on: Energy Efficiency (consume less), Renewable Energy (diversify sources) and Environmental Impact.
CGD has been developing the “Caixa Carbono Zero” (Caixa Zero Carbon) program since 2007, which consolidates Caixa Geral de Depósitos' strategy for combating climate change, which entails both internal action – taking responsibility for quantifying, reducing and offsetting its own emissions – and by its actions in the market and social sphere, thereby contributing to a low carbon economy.
Under this program, CGD has been providing, since 2006, an annual inventory of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), in relation to banking activities in Portugal, formulated in accordance with Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) methodology, currently the most recognized international standard for preparing corporate emissions inventories.
The establishment of internal measures and goals to reduce emissions is essential for implementing the strategy to combat climate change, for which CGD has defined quantified objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption for the period 2011-2015.
CGD acknowledges the need to develop environmental management practices, based on the best international standards, among which the International Statement by Financial Institutions on the Environment and Sustainable Development, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and UNEP-Finance Initiative (Innovative Financing for Sustainability) and the Charter for Responsible Business from WSBI-ESBG.
At the same time, CGD continues to: provide financial products that contribute positively to the environmental impact of economic activities; shift communications with customers, particularly via bank statements, to digital format; promote more responsible behaviour, such as the “Guia Dia-a-dia Carbono Zero” (Day-to-day Zero Carbon Guide); and offer the Carbon Calculator, for the purpose of supplying information on each person's carbon footprint, showing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with day-to-day activities.
Community
CGD’s responsibility is not limited to its ability to achieve good financial results. It is part of its history to constantly promote best practices in addressing the challenges of Portuguese society, during different times and situations, always striving to provide direct support to various social responsibility initiatives.
Therefore, in its recognition that community involvement (internal and external) is one of the pillars of its sustainable trajectory, CGD's commitment to the community is based on innovative and comprehensive social intervention, promoting financial inclusion and literacy and centring its action around social entrepreneurship, microcredit and microfinance, and social innovation, bearing in mind the need to meet the challenges emerging in Portuguese society. In 2011, CGD joined the London Benchmarking Group (LBG), an association of more than 100 international companies committed to measuring the social impact of their investments in the community.
CGD participates in an innovative and ongoing manner, encompassing a wide variety of areas, making a contribution to society in terms of more abundant knowledge, promoting financial inclusion and literacy, as well as environmental, with the goal of providing information to nurture financially responsible behaviour.
CGD's commitment to the community is based on constant and committed support to activities in different areas, supplying answers to the real needs of society and meeting its expectations.
Financial Literacy and Inclusion
In acknowledgment of the importance of literacy for responsible management of personal finances, CGD develops initiatives that help educate citizens about the requirements imposed by the complexity and diversity of financial products (Site Saldo Positivo:
http://www.saldopositivo.cgd.pt/ and “Educação + Financeira” (Education + Financial program).
Saldo Positivo is Caixa Geral de Depósitos’ financial literacy program. Launched in 2008, it represents a pioneering initiative in Portugal, which falls under CGD's community involvement policy. It seeks to provide individuals with access to personal finance knowledge that will equip them to make more mindful and enlightened financial decisions, thus preventing over-indebtedness. Saldo Positivo next step is the creation of a venue for financial literacy and management for SMEs – an effort that reflects Caixa’s emphasis on the economy and Portuguese companies which it deems to be a priority in the coming years.
Educação + Financeira is a financial literacy exhibition, developed by Caixa in partnership with the University of Aveiro. This initiative is entering into its second school year and focuses on helping educate consumers to be better informed, more aware of financial realities and better prepared to face the difficulties and challenges of everyday life.
The project, which last year reached more than 14,000 young people, will once again travel throughout the country until April 2012, bringing, especially to the younger population (from seven to 17 years of age), but also the general public, different content and games related to financial issues that everyone faces in day-to-day life.

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