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Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2018
Management Overview Foreword
of sustainability
Responsible
banker
Fair partner –
Human Resources
Fair partner –
Inhouse ecology
Engaged
citizen
GRI index and
Assurance report
Digitization and environmental
protection
Digitization and environmental protection are not incompatible. Among other things, this was clearly established
in the small group discussions on the topic of environmental problems at RBI’s Stakeholder Council in 2018 (see
also page 34 et seq.). Digitization has revolutionized the way we live, work, and communicate. Without it,
many facts about climate change would be unknown both locally and globally. These facts have enabled scientists
to make more accurate predictions concerning the consequences of our actions and to derive recommended
actions for politicians and businesses. The resulting action areas have led to technical developments and more
intelligent heating and cooling systems that we are now using to significantly reduce energy consumption. The comfort
of people and company employees has also benefited as a result. Digitization has been a key factor in the
increased use of green electricity in the energy supply. The occasional volatility of green electricity can now be
controlled using storage systems so that it can be supplied to consumers as needed.
Furthermore, digitization has helped to drive a breakthrough in the closed-loop economy. For example, 94
percent of RBI’s waste is non-hazardous and almost 22 percent of it is recycled. Thanks to connected information,
it is easier to track resources in terms of location and volume. We now also have the necessary transparency to
control resource flows more efficiently in terms of the waste generated. These are just some examples of how
companies – including RBI – can harness the opportunities provided by digitization in order to help them achieve
their climate targets.
At the same time, data centers and new communication solutions consume a lot of energy. However, these
applications also enable features such as web conferencing, which will cut down on business travel in the medium
to long term. Increased energy consumption is more environmentally friendly than the emissions caused by
business travel. This also explains why energy consumption accounts for the largest share of emissions at RBI.
In order to minimize RBI’s overall ecological footprint, the Environmental Committee regularly addresses RBI’s
environmental targets and their achievement and discusses their adjustment to reflect developments and trends.
Overview of greenhouse gas
emissions
In order to ensure comparability, the environmental indicators contain only the head office data of the network
banks. The key figures of the network banks have been summarized according to regions and are published on
our website at www.rbinternational.com/sustainabilitymanagement.
There are no plans at present to collect environment-related data in all branches. The data is presented for RBI,
which consists of the network banks in CEE, RBI AG and the Austrian subsidiaries. The graphic on page 122 shows
the environmentally relevant areas of RBI and their impact on CO2e emissions1.
1 CO2e is the conversion of the hazard potential of the relevant, climate-influencing gases into an equivalent amount of CO2.