Sustainability at Deutsche Bank AG
Deutsche Bank has long been committed to sustainability, and in recent years the topic has steadily gained importance in our discussions with investors, customers and the general public. Sustainability is a central component of our strategy “Compete to win”, which we announced in mid-2019. Since then, we have made significant progress in embedding sustainability in our business activities.
Environmental, social and good governance
As part of this development, we have defined a sustainability mission statement. It expresses our comprehensive understanding of sustainability and includes the environmental, social and good governance (ESG) aspects. Our sustainability strategy is also accompanied by a profound change for our bank itself; as part of our business activities, we focus on supporting our customers in their transformation toward sustainable and climate-neutral business models. This focus is reflected in our goal to increase the volume of sustainable financing and assets under management in ESG investments to more than €200 billion in total by the end of 2025, as well as in our increasing expertise and activity across all our business lines and the development of our framework for managing climate and ESG risks.
Sustainability as a significant business opportunity
We see sustainability as a significant business opportunity. Through our actions, we also aim to contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through our business activities in various sectors, we contribute indirectly to all SDGs, and our activities and measures pay direct attention to some SDGs. We also support a number of international policies and standards, such as the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and the UN Principles for Responsible Banking.
Net Zero Banking Alliance
Deutsche Bank has joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance. This makes it one of 43 banks from 23 countries that have supported this alliance from the outset. Members commit to reducing emissions from their operations and portfolios to net zero by 2050 at the latest.
Global Goals Impact Fund Award
On April 22, 2021, the Global Goals Impact Fund Award (“Global Goals Wirkungsfonds-Preis”), endowed with a total of 35,000 euros, was presented to three outstanding social enterprises whose initiatives promote fewer inequalities and good working conditions, thus contributing to the achievement of selected UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Climate Commitment of the German Financial Industry
We have signed the Climate Commitment of the German financial sector. In doing so, we pledge to align our loan portfolio with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
To achieve our sustainability mission and goals, we have embedded sustainability throughout the bank and are focusing our efforts on the following four dimensions:
- Sustainable Financing
- Policies and commitments
- Our own business operations
- Thought leadership and stakeholder engagement.
Sustainability Committee
We have established a Sustainability Committee at Board level, which started its work in October 2020. It takes decisions on all key sustainability initiatives of the bank and consists of 13 members, including members of the Board of Management and the four heads of the business units.
Chaired by our CEO, the committee met twice in 2020. At the same time, it is the steering committee for sustainability-related transformation initiatives coordinated by our Transformation Office as part of the bank’s change management governance.
Sustainability Council
Our Sustainability Council, established in 2018, remains an important element of our sustainability governance.
It initiates and prepares decisions for the Sustainability Committee, coordinates the implementation of these decisions, and steers the working groups aligned to the four dimensions of our sustainability strategy.
The Council is staffed by executives from our four business areas and all infrastructure functions, and meets monthly.
Sustainability Deep Dive
Deutsche Bank’s first Sustainability Day – called Sustainability Deep Dive – took place on Thursday, May 20, 2021, between 1 and 4 p.m. (CEST). It was hosted by Anke Hallmann, Deputy Head of Communications & Social Responsibility.
Wir wollen eine führende Stimme in Sachen Nachhaltigkeit sein
- Two employees of our bank are members of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Board. The Advisory Board was appointed by the German Federal Government in June 2019 to help develop a national strategy for a sustainable financial market.
- As a member of the Banking Environment Initiative, in 2019 we collaborated on Bank 2030 – a project to explore how banks can accelerate the financing of a low-carbon economy and develop a vision of a climate-progressive bank.
- We launched dbSustainability, a platform for sustainability research – with thought-provoking content that adds real value, including thematic, macroeconomic, quantitative and company-specific analysis.
- We participate in discussions on developments in sustainable finance with professional associations and take part in consultations – for example, those of the European Banking Federation, the Network for Greening the Financial System, and the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance.
- We participate in innovative initiatives at global, EU and national level.
