Austrian RZB Group released its new 2011/2012 sustainability report

• Broad inclusion of stakeholders
• 46 GRI performance indicators reported on
• External audit confirms application level “B+”
• Sustainable engagement artistically implemented

05-8-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — The RZB Group’s Sustainability Report for the period 2011/2012 has been published today under the motto “We create sustainable value”. For over 125 years, Raiffeisen has combined financial success with socially responsible trading. The goal of this active, sustainable engagement is to generate extensive value creation, where financial, ecological and social responsibility form a single unit. In this way, the RZB Group creates sustainable value for its stakeholders.

“The new Sustainability Report of the RZB Group illustrates the diversity of our sustainable engagement. We publish the report on our sustainability performance on a voluntary basis out of a sense of conviction. In it, we show both how we currently perceive our corporate responsibility and how we wish to continue to do so in the future,” says Walter Rothensteiner, Director General of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG.

Broad inclusion of stakeholders
The engagement of the RZB Group in sustainable corporate development has grown more extensive and purposeful in recent years. The chosen path was continued through a Group-wide strategy alignment in the area of sustainability and stronger stakeholder inclusion. “The report is an important element of the inclusion and established dialogue with our stakeholders. As such, we have placed particular value on constructive and appreciative collaboration,” explains Andrea Weber, Head of Sustainability Management within the RZB Group. To prioritise important topics, a new two-level approach to stakeholder inclusion was chosen. At the 2012 Stakeholder Council, all internal and external stakeholders were invited to prioritise selected topics for effective sustainability management of the RZB Group. These topics were then verified for their importance and perceived performance. This was done by means of an extensive online stakeholder survey. Amongst other factors, the advancement of sustainability in the core business and awareness-raising amongst the staff were seen as important and having a need for development. In the coming years – as a result of this survey – these topics will be an important element of the sustainability programme.

External audit confirms application level “B+”
The RZB Group Sustainability Report 2011/2012 meets the international reporting standard of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This globally recognised, comprehensive and transparent reporting framework makes it possible for companies and organisations to present their financial, ecological and social performance in a transparent way using a range of indicators.

Compared to the 2010 Sustainability Report, the number of reported GRI indicators has been increased from 25 to 46 by adding selected indicators from the GRI Financial Sector Supplement. These included a focus on the indicators from the network banks in Central and Eastern Europe.

The environmentally relevant and social data in the report was audited by the financially independent and impartial service company Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). Application level “B+” of the GRI according to the currently valid guideline G3 was confirmed. In total, there are three levels (A, B and C) which correspond to the applied scope of the GRI reporting framework. The “+” indicates that the details in the report were confirmed by means of external certification.

Pictorial connections
The illustrations in the report were produced by Tina Greisberger, a young student at the University for Applied Arts in Vienna. An independent jury selected the artist for this assignment. In the manifold lines of her coloured ink drawings, she illustrates the networked relationship and the dialogue with the stakeholders RZB Group.

The Sustainability Report and all further topical information on the area of sustainability management within the RZB Group can be viewed at www.rzb.at/nachhaltigkeitsmanagement.

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Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB AG) is the central institute of the Raiffeisen Banking Group in Austria (RBG), head of the RZB Group as well as the service unit for the Raiffeisen Sector in Austria. As an organiser of synergies and common solutions, it is the interface between RBG and Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI).

RZB AG holds about 78.5 per cent of the shares of its listed subsidiary RBI. Through RBI, it possesses one of the largest banking networks in Central and Eastern Europe. Seventeen markets in the region are covered by subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other financial services companies. More than 60,000 employees of the RZB Group manage about 14.2 million customers at around 3,100 branches worldwide.

For additional information, please contact Andreas Ecker (+43-1-26216-2222, andreas.ecker@rzb.at) or Martina Schweighart (+43-1-26216-1216, martina.schweighart@rzb.at).

http://www.rzb.at, http://www.rbinternational.com