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25 Apr 2019 – Articles

Danske Bank endorses the UN Principles for Responsible Banking

Danske Bank has endorsed the Principles for Responsible Banking developed by the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).  The aim of the principles is to provide a shared industry framework for how to ensure a future sustainable banking system.

Society's interests integrated into our business

Our goal is to drive sustainable progress and to make a positive impact in the societies that we form part of. Our efforts align well with the principles since their core focus is to ensure that we continue to integrate society’s interests into our business. By endorsing the principles, we adopt a global framework for what it means to be a responsible and sustainable bank and get access to guidance and tools that can support our implementation.

Jesper Nielsen

Interim CEO, Danske Bank

The principles are currently in public consultation and are expected to be officially launched at the UN General Assembly in September 2019 in New York.



Danske Bank’s Societal Impact & Sustainability Strategy
Our Societal Impact & Sustainability Strategy aligns well with the Principles of Responsible Banking, and the focus will thus be to ensure strong execution, especially in relation to sustainable finance.

“During the past few years, we have increased our focus on how to use our financing capabilities to drive societal changes,” says Jeanette Fangel Løgstrup, Head of Societal Impact and Sustainability at Danske Bank. “We are strengthening ESG integration into our investment and lending activities, focusing on sectors with severe climate and human rights impacts. We are also working on new solutions such as green loans and green bonds to help our customers’ transition to a greener economy.” She continues:

“However, there is much more to do in order to fully understand our positive and negative impacts. Over the coming years, we will keep analysing and assessing our impacts and work to step up our efforts. The ultimate goal is to ensure that we keep societal impact and sustainability naturally embedded in everything we do, and the principles provide an excellent framework for our work.”


The 6 Principles for Responsible Banking

Principle 1: Alignment
“We will align our business strategy to be consistent with and contribute to individuals’ needs and society’s goals, as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement and relevant national and regional frameworks. We will focus our efforts where we have the most significant impact.”
Principle 2: Impact
“We will continuously increase our positive impacts while reducing the negative impacts on, and managing the risks to, people and environment resulting from our activities, products and services.”
Principle 3: Clients and Customers
“We will work responsibly with our clients and our customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable economic activities that create shared prosperity for current and future generations.”
Principle 4: Stakeholders
“We will proactively and responsibly consult, engage and partner with relevant stakeholders to achieve society’s goals.”
Principle 5: Governance and Target Setting
“We will implement our commitment to these Principles through effective governance and a culture of responsible banking, demonstrating ambition and accountability by setting public targets relating to our most significant impacts.”
Principle 6: Transparency and Accountability
“We will periodically review our individual and collective implementation of these Principles and be transparent about and accountable for our positive and negative impacts and our contribution to society’s goals.”