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Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2017
GRI content index / Assurance statement Engaged citizen Fair partner Responsible banker Sustainability management Overview Foreword
Future outlook and Sustainability
Program
As mentioned in the preface to this chapter, in all business areas and products, RBI strives assiduously to structure
its business and business relationships for long-term resilience, to avoid social and environmental risks and to take
advantage of opportunities to improve environmental protection and social standards. In a financial sector which
is becoming more and more sustainable, sustainable investments will in future make up an increasingly important
share of the overall portfolio. We also see the opportunity for new business areas in the financing of innovations
and developments of sustainable technologies as well as in consulting for climate-friendly projects.
We are convinced that sustainability topics will continue to gain in importance and therefore integrating them in
our core business is a continuous process. With regard to environmental topics, this process has received new
momentum thanks to the 2015 Paris climate agreement (COP21). However, there is also increasing focus on the
social dimension, which is reflected in the United Nations’ SDGs. Even though many topics are often taken for
granted in Europe, we still see room for improvement. RBI has, among other things, planned the creation of a
human rights policy this year.
The SDGs represent a long-term guideline which also incorporate the Principles of Responsible Investments (PRI)
for the international network of investors which the Raiffeisen KAG joined in 2013. The current ambitious general
goal of PRI for the next ten years is to unite responsible investors to work towards sustainable markets and thus
contribute to shaping a prosperous world for all. Raiffeisen KAG will strengthen its commitment with regard to the
integration of the SDGs. A first step in this direction was taken by conducting a survey of companies that have
invested in sustainability funds.
In future, Raiffeisen KAG also plans to calculate an ESG score (quantitative sustainability indicator) as a basis for
strategic long-term goals and to calculate the CO2 footprint of all retail funds – either through external agencies
(as is already the case for some sustainability funds) or through our own calculations with bought databases. The
starting point will be specific sustainability funds for which these calculations already exist. We also plan to
integrate sustainability principles in the management of real estate funds in 2018. The claim of being a qualitatively
sustainable leading investment company in the German speaking region will become increasingly quantifiable.
In addition to this, a further expansion of the product portfolio – and thus a continuous expansion of our managed
assets in sustainability funds – is planned. Following some new launches in 2017, we strive for an increase of the
product range, i.e. new funds will also be launched in 2018. Furthermore, the volume of the sustainability funds
will continue to grow significantly.