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CFO Martin Grüll discussed the conclusion of
the first benchmark issue of a green bond by an
Austrian bank in June, which is used to finance
sustainable projects in Austria and CEE. With an
order volume of € 1.3 billion, the green bond was
significantly oversubscribed. A project team from
the Cover Pool and Public Finance, Group Investor
Relations, Group Sustainability Management,
Group Treasury and Legal Services Markets &
Treasury departments worked intensively on the
preparations for over a year. The completion of the
issue was preceded by an extensive investor
roadshow through Europe.
Among other things, keynote speaker René Schmidpeter, Professor of International Business Ethics and CSR at
Cologne Business School, discussed studies showing that sustainability and profitability are not diametrically
opposed. Quite the opposite, in fact: Sustainable business models are not more expensive or slower, and
serve to reduce risk. That trend will be further reinforced by digitization and the resulting erosion of established
mindsets. This will see sustainability being seen not as contradictory, but rather as an element of an integrative
approach.
Hannes Cizek, Head of Group Strategy & Innovation, sees the digital transformation as an important tool
for achieving sustainability targets. In his presentation, he noted that the biggest lever of digitization relates to
core business and core processes.
Following on from the presentations about the opportunities and challenges involved in the sustainable design
of the digital transformation for companies, five workshop groups were formed after a brief introduction. These
groups were tasked with addressing the question of how digitization can help RBI operate even more
sustainably in the future in specific areas of action: employees and work environment, sustainable products
and services, transparency and disclosure, environmental impact in the core business, and corporate
environmental protection and social engagement. The workshop groups discussed the topics in detail,
considered various different aspects and generated numerous ideas.
Each group subsequently presented their best ideas on the respective topic to the entire Stakeholder Council,
allowing all of the guests to find out what had been discussed at the other tables. The proposals presented
were also prioritized using real-time voting.
The top three ideas/suggestions are shown below:
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
How can digitization help to improve sustainability at RBI when it comes to
transparency and disclosure?
Sustainability impact measurement
(CO2 footprint)
Internal culture of transparency
Sustainable pension provision
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Statements by CFO M. Grüll, © wdw4friends