RBS publishes its Sustainability Review 2013

Details of how RBS has sustained its position as the UK’s number one lender to UK renewable energy projects are revealed in the 2013 Sustainability Review.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 16-4-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — RBS’s Review aims to give an open and honest account of the progress the company has madeduring 2013  towards becoming a more responsible and sustainable bank, including the steps being taken to fix past legacy issues. It also details the progress made to rebuild trust in the organisation, from how it serves customers to how it is building a stronger, values-based culture.

As well as meeting its commitment to develop financial services that support sustainable development, in 2013 RBS:

• Lent £2.8 billion to first-time buyers in the UK;
• Grew mobile access to banking with 2.7 million mobile banking app users in the UK;
• Became the first bank to receive a five star award from the Fairbanking scheme;
• Implemented two new environmental, social and ethical risk lending policies;
• Received the Platinum rating by Opportunity Now for gender equality;
• Volunteered 170,000 company-hours in the community and supported almost 50,000 children in 22 countries with education, as part a campaign to invest in women of tomorrow.

In 2014 RBS will appoint a Chief Sustainability Officer, with a remit to work with the Board to embed sustainability into corporate strategy.

The Bank is also strengthening its environmental, social and ethical risk policies to focus more on issues affecting all business sectors, such as human rights and climate change.

“We understand that part of becoming number one for trust involves transparency and accountability,” said Ross McEwan, RBS Chief Executive.

“Our 2013 Sustainability report aims to give an honest picture of RBS which is reflective of all our strengths and weaknesses. We have disclosed our past conduct failings in one place, for the first time. We also have increased disclosure on how we address our environmental, social and ethical risks. We have made a commitment to shareholders to get the bank on a proper footing and our aim is to be transparent about how this is achieved.”

RBS has over 20 years of experience in financing renewable energy projects across a range of sectors, and has been publishing a report outlining energy financing since 2011.

See the full RBS Sustainability Review 2013 (PDF 4MB) and Financing of the Energy Sector Report (PDF 646KB).

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RBS has over 20 years of experience in financing renewable energy projects
Read more at http://www.rbs.com/news/2014/04/rbs-sustainability-review-2013.html#jw8wLSXKyStFBGes.99