the social dimension of sustainable banking...social aspects of sustainability in general, but we...
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THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABLE BANKING
Characteristics of and Reasons for a Greater Focus on
Social Aspects in Sustainable Banking
Katharina Lange, Esther M. Schmitt
IMPULSE PAPER
AUTHORS KATHARINA LANGE
Administration and Research Assistance
ESTHER M. SCHMITT
Research and Community Coordinator
INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL BANKING E.V. Wilhelmine-Gemberg-Weg 12
10179 Berlin
Germany
www.social-banking.org
+49 30 549 055 60
Photo Cover Page: Stephan Münnich Photography: https://muennich-fotografie.de.
Published: September 2019.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC
BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our interview partners Mirjana Sakic (Erste Group
Bank AG) and Niamh Goggin (UK Community Foundations; Small Change Ltd; RBS Social & Community
Capital; Community Foundation NI) for their willingness to answer all our questions.
Besides our interviewees, we would like to thank all our proofreaders for their inspiring comments and
helpful remarks.
Anne Löscher, University Siegen
Nikolas Höhnke, Beuth University Berlin
Paul Gower, Warwick University
Susanne Dräger, Carbon Disclosure Project
Also, many thanks go to our colleagues from the ISB, Sanika N. Hufeland and Alexander Beck, and to
our community for enriching our work and for supporting us in many different ways.
None of the above should be held responsible for the opinions expressed herein.
PREFACE
Social banks are generally committed to sustainability and its three connected bottom lines; ecological,
economic and social impacts. It has been easier to embed economic and ecological requirements into
governance and corporate culture, operations and communications.
Why and how should social banks build social impact into their business models? Banks will not achieve
sustainability without achieving social goals internally and contributing externally to building a more
sustainable world. For example, gender equality ensures a broader and stronger talent pool, more
empathy and understanding of markets within the bank, and a wider environment in which all
employees and customers can thrive. Financial inclusion and education will develop a new customer
base, but also embed financial capability in communities for the long term. Peace, justice and strong
institutions support a culture of trust and good relations that, among other achievements, reduce
security and transaction costs.
From the 1970s, the ethical and social banking sector has led the way with sustainable financial
services. As mainstream banks and financial institutions follow their lead in developing ‘ethical’
products and services, perhaps it is time for the social banking sector to push the boundaries once
again.
NIAMH GOGGIN IN SEPTEMBER 2019
(UK Community Foundations; Small Change Ltd;
RBS Social & Community Capital; Community Foundation NI)
ABSTRACT With the release of the European Action Plan on Sustainable Finance of the European Commission in
2018, the sustainable banking and finance topic has shifted from a niche phenomenon to an essential
part of the European political agenda. While so-called ethical banks emerged in Europe in the 1970s
and the decades that followed, the mainstream players in the financial market have only recently
integrated more sustainable investment offers in their portfolios. Despite these encouraging shifts
towards more sustainability, these sustainable banking activities often put more emphasis on the
ecological than on the social dimension of sustainability (e.g. fossil free investments). We argument
that a stronger focus on social inclusion and social aspects is needed within the banking and finance
industry in order to implement the whole spectrum of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Banks
and other financial institutions (should) play a crucial role in enabling and financing – in alliance with
the public and the third sector – a social turnaround. Therefore, this paper aims at, first, pointing out
the social aspects of sustainable banking and, second, how banks and financial institutions can
contribute to solving social issues. After discerning different concepts and providing some underlying
definitions, the paper takes an initial look into practice. The methods used were unstructured
interviews and document analysis. The results of this project stress that the social dimension of
sustainable banking lies in the interaction of various measures in order to reach social and financial
inclusion. Finally, the paper suggests further action not only from the practical perspective, but also
from a theoretical as well as an empirical research perspective, and at the policy level.
KEY WORDS: FINANCIAL ACCESS, FINANCIAL EDUCATION, FINANCIAL INCLUSION, SOCIAL ASPECTS, SOCIAL BANKING, SUSTAINABLE BANKING, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
2. DEFINITIONS: THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABILITY ....................................................... 2
2.1 SUSTAINABILITY ...................................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 SDGS AND FFG ...................................................................................................................................... 2
2.3 FINANCIAL INCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 4
2.4 SOCIAL BANKING..................................................................................................................................... 4
2.5 OUR DEFINITION OF THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABLE BANKING ......................................................... 5
3. VIEW INTO PRACTICE ................................................................................................................ 5
3.1 GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE CULTURE ................................................................................................... 5
3.2 FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ......................................................................................................... 6
3.3 FINANCIAL EDUCATION ............................................................................................................................ 7
4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 8
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 10
FURTHER READINGS ................................................................................................................... 12
1
“SOCIAL IS MAKING THE NEED OF THE OTHER THE MOTIVATION OF YOUR OWN ACTIONS.” (DIETER BRÜLL)
1. INTRODUCTION For the past 30 years at least, society in Europe has been confronted with challenges such as
inequalities in access to education, discrimination on the basis of class, ethnicity and gender, the rise
of unemployment, especially after the financial crisis, and the recent rise of populist movements.
Although the awareness of social conflicts is omnipresent, the actions taken are still insufficient. So
far, the public debate on sustainable banking in Europe has often had a primarily ecological focus and,
since the financial crisis, an economic one. However, the discourse rarely refers to the social aspects
of sustainability. This ongoing neglect of thoroughly tackling social challenges calls upon a strong action
if taking sustainability seriously. Thus, the present impulse paper is a timely response to the challenges
ahead. We – the authors of the present paper and not necessarily the entirety of the Institute – are of
the opinion that the financial sector and banks in particular can bring about a social turnaround
through investments and expertise.
This paper aims to point out the social aspects of sustainable banking and how banks and financial
institutions can contribute to solve social challenges. The underlying questions of this impulse are, first,
what are the social aspects of sustainable banking, and second, in which ways can banks and financial
institutions solve social issues?
Our level of analysis takes into account the governance and business activities of banks and
foundations in Europe. Different views prevail in this discourse about whose genuine task it is to pursue
social goals and tackle social problems. Is it the duty of the state, of third sector organizations, of
businesses, or is it most notably a common task? We argue that the current societal problems are
extremely heterogeneous and pressing, and may therefore not be solved by a single actor, but by a
variety of social, political and economic agents. Banks and financial institutions – of all forms – do hold
a social responsibility as they impact society with their activity, and should thereby contribute to
solving social problems, too.
Initially, we will describe some crucial concepts and definitions related to social aspects in sustainable
banking and explain our underlying rationale. Thereafter, the main part will give an overview of
business activities and procedures related to social aspects of sustainability within the banking
industry. Specifically, we will consider financial products and services fostering financial education as
well as economic and financial inclusion. Finally, we close the paper by summarising the main aspects
in theory and practice, and by suggesting further steps for research, practice, and the agenda setting
of the public policy.
2
2. DEFINITIONS: THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABILITY There is no common understanding in the literature or the public discourse about what is meant by
social aspects of sustainable banking. Therefore, we will describe important concepts and definitions
of sustainability and social banking in the following forming our theoretical framework.
2.1 SUSTAINABILITY We define sustainability according to the Brundtland Commission (1987) referring to „the ability to
make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs“. Accordingly, sustainability contains three
dimensions – the so-called Triple Bottom Line (Alhaddi, 2015; Puneeta, 2010) – which are closely
interrelated and interdependent: the ecological, economic and social aspects of sustainability.1
2.2 SDGS AND FFG The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Fair Finance Guide (FFG) with their respective
social goals are framing our theoretical foundations.2 We would like to give an impetus to investigate
social aspects of sustainability in the sense of the SDGs as macroeconomic objectives and the FFG as a
tool of operationalisation and measurement at the meso level.
The 17 goals for sustainable development were adopted as part of the Agenda 2030 by the United
Nations as a global call to take action. Consequently, these are not only ecological and economic, but,
above all, social goals. In our opinion, banks and foundations can make a significant contribution to
achieving the social SDGs as displayed in the chart below.
From the 17 goals, we have discerned the following ten goals with a strong reference to social aspects:
• Goal 1 – No Poverty
• Goal 2 – Zero Hunger
• Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-Being
• Goal 4 – Quality Education
• Goal 5 – Gender Equality
• Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities
• Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
• Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
1 A truly sustainable development must correspond to all three dimensions. We do not want to prioritise the social aspects of sustainability in general, but we want to draw attention to the social dimension in the present paper. 2 It is rather difficult to limit the scope, but we have deliberately chosen to draw the line for this impulse paper with these two initiatives. In addition, this paper focuses on both ethical as well as mainstream banks in Europe. It is important to remember that social banking varies from country to country, also within Europe. Besides, the European Union – despite its awareness for climate change and ecological sustainability – still neglects social issues as shown by not integrating social aspects in the European Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth.
3
Figure 1: The Social SDGs
Source: Own representation based on United Nations, 2016; United Nations 2019.
HOW CAN BANKS AND FOUNDATIONS PROMOTE THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE SDGS?
The FFG looks at the investment and credit policy of banks in a number of sectors, based on the
(publicly accessible) guidelines elaborated by the banks. These voluntary commitments – again an
interrelationship between ecological, economic and social aspects as shown in the figure below – are
checked in practice and measured against reality. Therefore, the FFG enables bank clients to get a
comparative insight into which commitments and obligations these banks have made and to further
promote social change towards a fairer world through their economic decisions.
From the 15 goals, we have distinguished the following seven goals with a strong reference to social aspects:
• Corruption
• Gender Equality
• Human Rights
• Labour Rights
• Taxes
• Remuneration and Bonuses
• Transparency and Accountability
4
Figure 2: The Social Goals of the FFG
Source: Own representation based on Facing Finance e.V. (2019a).
HOW CAN BANKS AND FOUNDATIONS BEST COMPLY WITH THE FFG IN TERMS OF SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY?
2.3 FINANCIAL INCLUSION It is crucial to create the conditions for financial inclusion and economic empowerment in order to
enable every person to fully engage within society. Inclusion is the act of including a person as part of
society. The idea is that every person should be enabled to afford a decent living, enjoy the same
experiences, gain access to the same facilities, and successfully participate in the economic cycle.
Economic and financial integration can be achieved through conjointly providing access to the formal
financial system as well as financial literacy.
Financial inclusion plays a significant role in sustaining financial stability, economic growth and
employment (Amidžić et al., 2014; Demirguc-Kunt et al., 2017). Hence, it is a crucial part of reaching
the social SDGs and the social goals of the FFG.
2.4 SOCIAL BANKING The ISB (2017) describes Social Banking as “banking and financial services whose main objective is to
contribute to the development and prospering of people and planet, today and in the future”.
However, this vast definition does not primarily refer to social aspects, but to people and planet –
social and ecological aspects – equally.
5
2.5 OUR DEFINITION OF THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABLE BANKING In summary, this paper defines the social dimension of sustainable banking as a banking and finance
practice which integrates human rights and good governance within its internal processes and
governance. It offers financial products as well as non-financial services with the aim of financial
inclusion and social well-being or – in other words – with a positive social impact on the individual and
the community.
3. VIEW INTO PRACTICE Banks and other financial institutions transact with, influence, and receive responses from their
employees, their customers, and society as a whole. In particular, this concerns the banks’ governance,
its corporate culture, their financial products as well as their financial education and inclusion
programs.
The present paper concentrates on the core (business) activities of banks and foundations in Europe.
Undoubtedly, the European banking system is very diverse concerning their business models, legal
forms, and organizational structures. We screened and interviewed several actors from the fields of
ethical banks, cooperative banks, commercial banks and savings banks.
Pioneer banks3 and alternative financial institutions have been working according to the following
principles for years proving on a daily basis that the social aspects of sustainability and finance are
anything but mutually exclusive. Some banks already show focus on the social aspects of sustainability
through a high proportion of their portfolios being used for educational and cultural purposes. Their
social sensitivity lets them only invest in small, sustainable companies and socially responsible projects
such as the expansion of social infrastructure for example.
WHAT ARE TANGIBLE EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE BANKING?
3.1 GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE CULTURE With respect to their employees, banks and foundations implement a corporate culture which frames
their mutual behaviour and cohabitation. This governance realizes the implementation of the social
SDGs, such as no poverty, good health and well-being, gender equality, decent work and economic
growth, reduced inequalities, responsible consumption and production, as well as peace, justice and
strong institutions. The underlying internal measures may be reviewed by an independent body such
as the FFG which looks at human rights, gender equality, labour rights, remuneration and bonuses,
corruption, taxes, as well as transparency and accountability.
3 We refer with pioneer banks to ethical and social banks with a tradition evolved from the environmental movement as well as democratic and social movements in Europe since the 1960s. There are various designations in order to describe these banks such as alternative, ethical or social banks. However, mainstream banks have recently shown some increasing interest and commitment towards the issue of sustainability.
6
Banks need to protect human rights when it comes to their own business and to require the
enforcement of appropriate measures by companies they are engaging with, particularly
regarding the rights of children (beyond the prohibition of child labour), women and
indigenous peoples. Some banks for example exclude participation in land theft and further
activities in economically illegally occupied territories (Facing Finance e.V., 2019b).
In addition, banks act in a socially responsible manner when condemning any form of
discrimination in relation to employment and occupation – eventually resulting in equal access
to management positions – and acting according to the principle “equal pay for equal work”
(FFG Facing Finance e.V., 2019c).
Within the relationship to their employees, some banks refer to the International Labour
Organisation’s core labour standards (International Labour Organization, 2019) and expect
companies to follow them as well. They further need to encourage sound health and safety
procedures from companies in which they invest, and urge them to pay a living wage and
provide reasonable working hours (Facing Finance e.V., 2019d).
When it comes to remuneration and bonuses, a small range from the lowest to the highest
income of employees is considered socially sustainable as well as a waiver of performance-
related remuneration (Facing Finance e.V., 2019e).
In particular, the sustainable banks and foundations aim to sustainably embed themselves in the
financial system through tax payment, the prevention of corruption, as well as transparency and
accountability.
Banks and foundations may be a conduit for tax fraud, so most social banks are exclusively
active in their respective countries and omit financial services for companies pursuing tax
avoidance tactics. Besides, they ask their business partners to disclose subsidies received and
taxes paid, and request publication of corporate structures and ownership (Facing Finance
e.V., 2019f).
Also, social banks have a zero tolerance policy against corruption and no acceptance of bribery
among their own employees or among potential business partners (Facing Finance e.V.,
2019g).
Transparency and accountability are the key indicators of a responsible handling of money in
the banking and finance sector – one of the most important and complex sectors of today’s
economic system. For example, many social banks regularly publish the names and
descriptions of all companies in which they invest or which they finance (Facing Finance e.V.,
2019h).
3.2 FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Furthermore, banks and financial institutions provide various specific financial products aiming at
effectuating financial inclusion and supporting the SDGs. They often offer products with more
favourable conditions than mainstream products: accounts with lower maintenance fees and accounts
where every Euro is guaranteed to finance public welfare projects as well as loans with lower and/or
more flexible interest rates, particularly for education purposes. The range of products is tailored to
7
the particular needs of the customers (Demirguc-Kunt et al., 2017) as shown through the following
examples.
Jam Jar accounts divide the monthly income into two separate parts. One part remains blocked
for the things that need to be paid, like urgent bills and rent, whereas the other part contains
the money that can be spent otherwise. This helps customers struggling with their financial
situation to avoid the debt trap.
Community loans finance and support voluntary and charitable groups. Additionally, there are
funds giving interest-free loans to people in need, such as single parents and people who can
neither fully nor partially participate in working life due to illness or disability.
Another particular financial product that is quite popular in development finance is microcredit
– small loans to small businesses in order to promote socio-economic development. Banks in
Europe issue microcredits to individuals with financial needs and to micro-entrepreneurs
fostering social enterprises, local businesses and self-employment. However, the most
important thing regarding all these financial products is that the respective banks stipulate a
certain sustainable requirement on the part of customers as well as transparency of the terms
and conditions.
Also, there is the prisoner debt relief fund which helps former prisoners to reintegrate into
society. Here, the fund is used to pay off the debt that the prisoner had before going to prison.
Hence, the prisoner comes out of prison without a large amount of debt and repays the money
facing more favourable and flexible conditions.
3.3 FINANCIAL EDUCATION Besides these specific products, customers may need financial support to be accompanied by
additional non-financial support. Financial awareness within society only arises from financial
education and literacy (Atkinson and Messy, 2013). Some banks even issue their financial products
accompanied by business trainings, financial competence and/or capacity building workshops4
depending on the customers’ needs and, in many cases, targeted at disadvantaged young people.
These educational programmes address the social SDGs of quality education, gender equality, decent
work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, as well as responsible consumption and production.
That matters particularly to people who may feel excluded from the financial system and economic
participation due to their lack of understanding and experience with complex terminology and tools
concerning financial issues. A certain knowledge of the monetary and financial system and of personal
finance, with a potential focus on financial practices that promote the common good, is extremely
important in order to enable as many people as possible to participate in the financial and economic
system.
4 There are also various formats of online offerings.
8
There are several banks that provide specifically targeted financial education programmes to
disadvantaged people,
entrepreneurs,
women, and/or
youths.
Indeed, in many cases, there is no specific need for additional products to be created, as most people
need better access to and usage of existing products. Effective social and economic participation is
therefore often more important than providing specifically tailored products.
4. CONCLUSION The aim of this paper was to point out the social aspects of sustainable banking and how banks and
financial institutions can contribute to solve social challenges. Our aim has been to draw attention to
this very sensitive topic, and we have seen that social aspects in sustainable banking have not yet been
addressed comprehensively.
After discerning different concepts ranging from sustainability to social banking, we have defined the
social dimension of sustainable banking as a banking and finance practice which integrates human
rights and good governance within its internal processes and governance, and offers financial products
and non-financial services with the aim of financial inclusion and social well-being or – in other words
– with a positive social impact on the individual and the community.
The view into practice ranged from a governance and corporate culture to differentiated financial
products and non-financial services. Not merely ethical banks, but also some cooperative, commercial
and savings banks engage in solving social problems. In fact, some of the origins of the European
banking activities lie in overcoming poverty and in aiming at reaching social inclusion, as for instance
the reasons for the foundation of the first savings and cooperative banks in Germany.
Nevertheless, the look into the European practice has shown that the social aspects of sustainable
banking play a minor role in comparison to the ecological and economic aspects. The majority of the
banks that are concerned about acting more sustainably, mainly target the green aspects of
sustainable banking.
Therefore, we strongly underline our opinion that the financial sector and banks in particular can
contribute to a social turnaround and financial inclusion through specifically tailored products and
services according to their customers’ needs. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of
governance and corporate culture. It is crucial that banks and financial institutions become more
sustainable to integrate social awareness, human rights, and good governance standards within their
internal processes.
9
However, not only the practitioners in banks and financial institutions should have a stronger focus on
the social dimension of sustainable banking, but academics can contribute through further research to
a richer view on this topic, both from a theoretical as well as an empirical perspective. We see the need
for more detailed analyses and papers to follow in order to examine the questions which remain more
rigorously. For instance, the (social) impact measurement of a product and/or service has not been
discussed within the present paper.
Finally, the social aspects of sustainability have not yet been well developed at the policy level. A
possible reason could be that they depict the least defined and most difficult to understand dimension
of sustainability due to a lack of information and their complexity. We see an urgent need to implement
these aspects in practice on a larger scale.
10
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FURTHER READINGS
Butzbach, O. and von Mettenheim, K. E. (2018). Alternative Banking Theory, Account. Econ. Law 5 (2),
pp. 105-171.
Davidson, M. (2010). Social Sustainability and the City. Geography Compass 4/7, pp. 872-880.
Daly, H. E. (1993). Sustainable Growth: An Impossibility Theorem, in: Daly, H. E. and Townsend, K. N.,
Valuing the Earth, pp. 267-273.
Demiguc-Kunt, A., Klapper, L. and Singer, D. (2017). Financial Inclusion and Inclusive Growth: A Re-
view of Recent Empirical Evidence. World Bank Group: Policy Research Working Paper No.
8040.
Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. London:
Sustainability Ltd.
Facing Finance e.V. (2017). Dirty Profits 5. Available at: https://www.fairfinanceguide.de/me
dia/373529/ff-dp5-unser-wohlstand-auf-kosten-von-mensch-und-umwelt.pdf.
Facing Finance e.V. (2018). Dirty Profits 6. Available at: https://www.fairfinanceguide.de/me
dia/495087/dp6_onlinexversion.pdf.
Gupta, J. and Vegelin, C. (2016). International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Econom-
ics 16 (3), pp. 433-448.
Relano, F. (2015). Disambiguating the concept of social banking. ACRN Oxford Journal of Finance and
Risks Perspectives, 4(3), pp. 48-62.
Seyfang, G. and Gilbert-Squires, A. (2019). Move your money? Sustainability Transitions in Regimes
and Practices in the UK Retail Banking Sector. Ecological Economics 156, pp. 224-235.
United Nations (2009). Rethinking Poverty: Report on the World Social Situation 2010, New York.