Sustainability Report for 2020 of the DZ BANK Group
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2020 Sustainability Report DZ BANK 2020 Sustainability Report 2 Contents | Company profile | Strategy | Corporate management | Business portfolio | Business processes | Employees | Operational ecology | Corporate citizenship | Annex Contents 1.0 About this report 3 6.0 Business portfolio 33 9.0 Operational ecology 78 6.1 Bank 34 9.1 Targets and measures 79 2.0 Foreword 5 6.2 Asset management 50 9.2 Resource consumption 80 6.3 Insurance 52 3.0 Company profile 7 10.0 Corporate citizenship 85 7.0 Business processes 54 4.0 Strategy 8 7.1 Customer focus 55 11.0 Annex 90 4.1 Sustainability in our 7.2 Human rights due diligence 61 11.1 Sustainability ratings 91 vision and values 9 7.3 Purchasing and supplier 11.2 Indices 92 4.2 Sustainability in our management 63 11.3 List of abbreviations 105 corporate strategy 10 7.4 Data protection 64 11.4 Independent auditor’s 4.3 Key areas of action 13 limited assurance report 106 4.4 Selection of goals 14 8.0 Employees 66 11.5 Editorial information 108 4.5 Materiality assessment 16 8.1 HR strategy and employer branding 67 8.2 Codetermination and rights 5.0 Corporate management 18 of participation under the 5.1 Corporate governance 19 German Works Council 5.2 Stakeholder dialog 22 Constitution Act (BetrVG) 70 5.3 Compliance 24 8.3 Occupational health and safety 71 5.4 Risk management 29 8.4 Diversity and equal opportunity 73 8.5 Balance between work, family life, and care responsibilities 74 8.6 Employee data 75 DZ BANK 2020 Sustainability Report 3 Contents | Company profile | Strategy | Corporate management | Business portfolio | Business processes | Employees | Operational ecology | Corporate citizenship | Annex 1.0 About this report This report provides information on important sustainability The GRI reporting of DZ BANK AG meets the requirements The Sustainability Report covers the following management activities of DZ BANK AG and the DZ BANK Group and the of the ‘core’ option of the GRI Sustainability Reporting units of the DZ BANK Group: progress made in this area in 2020. Reports that were previ- Standards (GRI SRS). The content has been included in the ously published separately have been combined in one com- Sustainability Report and is summarized in the GRI content – Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall AG (BSH) prehensive Sustainability Report for the first time. index (see › section 11.2 Indices). – R+V Versicherung (R+V) – Union Asset Management Holding (UMH or Union Pursuant to section 340a (1a) of the German Commercial In addition, this report satisfies the obligation of the Investment) Code (HGB), the DZ BANK Group and DZ BANK AG are DZ BANK Group as a signatory of the United Nations Global – TeamBank AG (TeamBank) required to publish a non-financial statement as defined in Compact (UNGC) to regularly report on its progress regard- – DZ BANK AG – central institution and corporate bank section 315c HGB in conjunction with section 289c HGB. ing the implementation of the ten principles of the UNGC (DZ BANK) The separate combined group non-financial report (‘non- in the four areas of human rights, labor standards, environ- – DZ HYP AG (DZ HYP) financial report’) for the DZ BANK Group and DZ BANK AG mental protection, and the prevention of corruption as well – DZ PRIVATBANK S.A. (DZ PRIVATBANK) is included in this Sustainability Report. The non-financial as its activities to promote sustainable development. – VR Smart Finanz AG (VR Smart Finanz) report is guided by the standards of the Global Reporting – DVB Bank SE (DVB Bank) Initiative (GRI) as a reference framework. The application In April 2020, DZ BANK AG signed the Principles for of the net method did not lead to the identification of any Responsible Banking (PRB), thereby committing to greater Unless otherwise indicated, the statements made in this reportable non-financial risks arising from the group’s busi- sustainability and transparency. The reporting requirements report relate to the DZ BANK Group including DZ BANK AG ness activities, business relationships, products, or services associated with this commitment are also satisfied by this (DZ BANK). Where a statement relates exclusively to that are very likely to have a serious negative impact on Sustainability Report. DZ BANK or individual entities of the DZ BANK Group, this non-financial aspects. DZ BANK Group entities report on is explicitly indicated in the text. sustainability information that is outside the scope of the Content that relates to the UNGC progress report, the PRB non-financial report in their sustainability reports and on principles, or one of the United Nation’s 17 sustainable The ‘DZ BANK Group fundamentals’ chapter in the 2020 their websites. development goals (SDGs) is included in the GRI content group management report contains further information on index. the management units of the DZ BANK Group and their business models. DZ BANK 2020 Sustainability Report 4 Contents | Company profile | Strategy | Corporate management | Business portfolio | Business processes | Employees | Operational ecology | Corporate citizenship | Annex Report content that is mandatory under the provisions of the External assurance engagement HGB is presented with a gray background. Information that is presented without a gray background is additional content An independent assurance engagement was conducted by that is provided on a voluntary basis. In the interests of read- the auditing firm Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- ability, this report does not use the bank’s full legal name. gesellschaft in respect of the non-financial report in order to obtain limited assurance in accordance with the Inter- The Sustainability Report relates to the 2020 financial year national Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (January 1 to December 31, 2020). Particularly relevant (Revised). The independent auditor’s limited assurance report events have been included up to the publishing deadline of can be found in › section 11.4. February 22, 2021. The Sustainability Report is published annually. The next report will be published in March 2022. The information that was reviewed as part of the external assurance engagement in respect of the non-financial report is presented with a gray background in this document. DZ BANK 2020 Sustainability Report 5 Contents | Company profile | Strategy | Corporate management | Business portfolio | Business processes | Employees | Operational ecology | Corporate citizenship | Annex 2.0 Foreword Dear reader, During the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability has become an even more pressing and relevant subject for the economy, society, and politics alike. The financial industry plays a central role in the further development of our econ- omy and society toward more sustainable business practices. As a member of the cooperative financial network, we regard corporate citizenship as part of our DNA. The DZ BANK Group has been working hard for years in order to enhance its sustainability profile. These activities were further accelerated in 2020. Sustainability and ESG aspects are embedded in the corporate values, strategy, goals, and remuner- ation system of DZ BANK. The recent organizational integration of this field into the Strategy & Group Development division is yet another step designed to take account of its crucial importance. We are deeply and personally invested in our strategic sustainability programs, both at DZ BANK AG and at DZ BANK Group level. At the moment, the focus is on a fundamental overhaul of our management instruments. Against this backdrop, we started to develop a proprietary sustainability classification for DZ BANK in 2020. This classification approach enables us to measure the degree of sustainability in our business portfolio in quantitative terms and to derive appropriate management input from the measurement outcomes. Among the standards used to create the reference framework were the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), because this allowed us to take account of all dimensions of sustainability (social, Uwe Fröhlich (left) and Dr. Cornelius Riese, Co-Chief Executive Officers DZ BANK 2020 Sustainability Report 6 Contents | Company profile | Strategy | Corporate management | Business portfolio | Business processes | Employees | Operational ecology | Corporate citizenship | Annex environmental, and corporate governance aspects) in a holistic manner. The In accordance with the cooperative financial network’s sustainability SDGs were therefore also adopted as the standard classification framework guidelines, we take a proactive approach to sustainability and take respon- for the business activities of the DZ BANK Group entities. sible action – together with our customers, members, and employees – in order to shape a more sustainable future for the environment, society, and In the interests of our stakeholders, we decided in 2020 to fundamentally the regions in which we operate. overhaul our existing concept for external sustainability reporting. The aim was to combine the existing sustainability report formats in one compre- Kind regards, hensive Sustainability Report and to publish information on the sustainabil- The Co-Chief Executive Officers of DZ BANK ity-related activities of DZ BANK and the DZ BANK Group in a highly trans- parent manner. This Sustainability Report is the outcome of that endeavor. Supporting our customers on their journey toward a more sustainable busi- ness model will be hugely important for us. We want to be a reliable and responsible partner in this field, offering an extensive range