POSTBANK ESG STRATEGIC VISION

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POSTBANK ESG STRATEGIC VISION

Environmental pollution and climate change are among the biggest challenges of our time. They define the quality of life and the future of our planet. They impact all businesses and increasingly affect households. They also cause a number of social issues. Turning all these into opportunities requires the application of best governance practices.

At Postbank, we place environmental protection and fighting climate change at the heart of our beliefs. As a responsible financial institution, we have stepped up to undertake the role that our time is calling for by embedding climate-related and environmental criteria in our management philosophy and key decision-making processes.

We are convinced that our success as a financial institution is tied up to taking into consideration the vast social aspects that our operations have and aspire to apply best governance practices to ensure our values are abided by daily.

We are well aware that climate change and the physical and transition risks associated with it provide a broad spectrum of opportunities for innovative solutions to the challenges they pose, and we are ready to offer financial products that help alleviate them. We also acknowledge that business opportunities and possibilities to contribute to society are the opposite sides of the difficulties we are facing. We aspire to maintain and expand our position as a leader in sustainability in Bulgaria by undertaking a proactive approach to ESG matters.

Our commitment

Postbank has been a leader in sustainable finance in Bulgaria for the past decade and we commit to maintaining this position by developing further our ESG policies and translating them into actions to support our clients and stakeholders. To this end, we are committed to:

  • Offer the best sustainable finance products to our customers;
  • Help turn sustainability challenges ahead of our customers into opportunities by providing financial solutions to them;
  • Enhance our sustainability impact by providing innovative financial approaches to market demands;
  • Act responsibly by closely monitoring ESG risks in our activities;
  • Increase staff and stakeholders awareness on ESG issues through involvement in various ESG activities;
  • Ensure a positive and inspiring work environment for our staff;
  • Manage actively our environmental footprint by maintaining a robust resource efficiency program;
  • Add value to society by contributing to various social activities.

We implement our ESG vision by:

  • Orienting our core business activities towards sustainability;
  • Managing ESG risks across our commercial portfolio;
  • Demonstrating care for the environment through sparing internal resources and implementing green procurement practices;
  • Enhancing awareness on ESG matters across our staff, stakeholders, and the broader society by acting as an agent of change;
  • Investing in human capital by initiating and supporting an array of training and educational programs in ESG and broader issues.

We have formed a special management committee - the Environmental and Sustainability Committee (ESC) and have endowed it with the governance of the implementation of our ESG vision and our Environmental Policy Statement, as well as with oversight of the bank’s compliance with requirements stemming from being a signatory of international initiatives, such as the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB). The committee discusses the materiality of ESG impacts for the bank and identifies key impact areas, upon which sets annual targets. Under the ESC supervision, several thematic working groups operate to ensure the achievement of the targets as set out and the undertaking of remedial actions whenever necessary.

In addition to the ESC, we have established a special function - the Environmental and Social Affairs Coordinator - who is in charge of coordinating the implementation of the decisions of the ESC.

To enhance internal awareness, since 2008 we have set up Green Board – an informal internal organization of volunteers which aims to foster awareness on environmental matters and to come up with initiatives in the area of responsible banking. Throughout the years of its existence, the Green Board has proven to be an efficient channel of innovative ideas from the bank employees.

We have also invested in our own internal program Green Together. Our bank is funding green initiatives which are implemented with the voluntary work of our employees.

Engagement with third parties

Postbank is a United Nations Environmental Program – Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) member since 2013, and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking since 2020. This makes us the first and to date the only bank in Bulgaria to join these international financial initiatives.

Drawing on international expertise and best banking practices through engaging in UNEP FI’s initiatives enhances our internal expertise and provides us with innovative ideas and possible solutions to address ESG challenges.