114 Inhouse ecology In the RZB Group, we are committed to environmental and climate protection, with the goal of keeping environmental impacts to a minimum. We therefore work continuously to improve our sustainability standards and the main environmental parameters in the most relevant areas. The environmental management system in Austria is based on international standards (e.g. ISO 14001). The network banks in CEE are also conscious of their responsibility for the environment and work to continuously improve this. For the current reporting year, we switched to the new factors of ecoinvent v3.3 (instead of the previous v2.2) in the emissions analysis, which resulted in a deterioration in Scope 1 emissions of around twelve percent, an improvement in Scope 2 values of around 13 percent and Scope 3 values of around four percent (with constant factors and values). The values for 2012 to 2015 were not converted to the new factor for the sake of better comparability with previous years’ reports. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed based on the development process for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and took effect on 1 January 2016. With 17 goals and 169 subgoals, climate change was described in goal number 13 of Agenda 2030 as one of the greatest challenges of our time. This will have an adverse effect on the natural environment, as well as on countries and society as a whole. It is therefore important in this context for all protagonists to consider measures for counteracting climate change – primarily by means of a reduction in direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. The RZB Group’s corporate activity has a direct impact on the environment which is caused by the energy and material consumption (electricity, heating and mobility or the indirect IT sector), water consumption and waste production. These areas are also reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals. They include SDG no. 6 (water), no. 7 (energy and share of green electricity), no. 8 (energy efficiency), no. 12 (consumption and production/waste) and no. 13 (climate), which is particularly relevant for the RZB Group. Energy consumption (primarily no. 8), followed by business travel (primarily no. 13) cause the most greenhouse gas emissions in the RZB Group and therefore take top priority. Water consumption has a relatively small footprint, which is why SDG no. 6 is not listed separately. Energy was also defined in the Paris Climate Agreement of December 2015 as being a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. The share of renewable energy and the increase in energy efficiency fall primarily within our own sphere of influence and above all have an impact on SDG no. 8 and 13. The RZB Group has therefore set a benchmark of a 60 percent reduction in CO2 in Scope 1–2 by 2050, to be achieved by means such as energy efficiency and a higher share of green electricity. The RZB Group’s share of green electricity increased by 16 percentage points compared to the previous year to reach a pleasing 34 percent in 2016 – in other words, considerably above the EU target, which stipulates that the share of renewable energy should increase to 27 percent by 2030. This goal also includes a description of the emissions caused by our core business. Further information on this core business can be found in the “Responsible Banker” chapter starting on page 45. As a cost factor, the area of energy has a direct impact on the company. In order to ensure comparability, the environmental indicators contain only the head office data of the network banks. The key figures ratios of the network banks have been summarized by segments and are published on our website at www.rbinternational.com . There are no plans at present to collect environment-related data in all branches. The data are presented for the RZB Group, which consists of the RBI Group as well as the central institute (RZB AG) and the specialized subsidiaries. The RBI Group comprises the network banks (NWB) and RBI AG. The graphic below shows the environmentally-relevant areas of the RZB Group and their impact on CO2e emissions.1 1 CO2e is the conversion of the hazard potential of relevant, climate-influencing gases into an equivalent amount of CO2.
ebook_RBI_NHBericht2016_EN
To see the actual publication please follow the link above