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Environmental footprint

Our highest priority is to make reductions within our emissions categories and to reduce as much as we can to minimise our own operational footprint. However, some emissions are unavoidable, and Danske Bank has been offsetting remaining operational emissions annually since 2009.

Our offsetting practices have evolved over the years, and in 2022 we set increased ambitions informed by current best practices and leading authorities, such as the SBTi Net-Zero methodology and the Oxford Offsetting Principles.

As from 2022, we purchase 100% carbon removal offsets for our internal operations, ensuring that every tonne is compensated for by 1 tonne of CO2e removed from the atmosphere.

Selected initiatives

In 2022, business-related travel activities resumed at Danske Bank. However, we continue to maintain a significantlylower level than pre-COVID-19.

Our carbon emissions from business-related air travel in 2022 were 68% lower than in 2019, exceeding our 2022 carbon reduction target of 60%. 

In order to support reduced business-travel, we have limited the travel budget to 65% lower than 2019, and we continue prioritise greener options in line with our Group-wide Travel & Expense Instruction, which includes specific guidelines on when employees should take the train instead of flying. We maintain our 2023 carbon emission target of a 55% reduction in air travel from 2019 levels.

Men installing solar panels

In 2022 we continued to increase the energy efficiency of our building portfolio by installing LED sensor lighting systems at premises in

  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Norway
  • India.

Other energy-efficiency initiatives included

  • installation of solar panels at our Swedish head office in Stockholm
  • upgrading of cooling and ventilation systems at our Norwegian head office in Trondheim and at our premises in India.

Combined, our efforts to reduce our consumption of electricity and heat in 2022 resulted in a 12% decrease from 2021 levels. This equates to a CO2e emission saving of more than 646 tonnes.


The Winnow food waste management system has been tested at our Finnish head office in Helsinki since 2020, and in 2022 we implemented this system at five additional sites in Denmark, Norway and Lithuania.

In addition to helping us to identify why and where food waste is happening, this system also identifies how we can adjust menus, food purchasing and preparation in order to minimise food waste. In 2022, these six canteens reduced food waste by 9.3 tonnes, which equates to a CO2e emission saving of more than 40 tonnes.

Target and status

  • 2030-target: 80% reduction in carbon emissions in scope 1 and 2 from 2019 and 60% reduction in carbon emissions in scope 1, 2 and currently measured scope 3 categories from 2019*  
  • 2022 status: 55% carbon emissions reduction since 2019. The significant reduction is a result of the corona pandemic and new ways of working.


*Find more information about scope 1, 2 and 3 in our climate plan. 

Selected publications & policies

In our Sustainability Report you can read more about our carbon reduction initiatives - for example energy-efficient buildings and electric vehicle charging stations.
  • 09. maj 2023Sustainability Report 2022
  • 08. maj 2023Sustainability Fact Book 2022
  • 02. feb 2023Statement on Carbon Neutralisation 2022
  • 20. jan 2023Climate Action Plan
  • 25. mar 2021Danske Bank Position Statement Climate Change
See more

Sustainable sourcing

We strive to ensure that the products and services we buy are produced responsibly. The Supplier Code of Conduct applies to all our suppliers. 

  • Risk profile assessment on the basis of information about the type of products and services in the tender and where they are produced.

  • Suppliers that are assessed as high-risk are asked to complete an additional in-depth questionnaire about their ESG policies and performances.

  • If we deem the result of the self-assessment questionnaire to be unsatisfactory, we engage in dialogue and agree on a corrective action plan, if needed.