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Arion Bank, in harmony with the environment
Arion Bank has adopted an environment and climate policy and has in recent years made green financial services, such as green car loans, deposits and mortgages, available to its customers. In the year 2021 the Bank issued its first comprehensive green financing framework. Arion Bank is a financially robust bank which places great importance on operating responsibly in harmony with society and the environment.
Arion Bank provides services to households, corporates and investors in three business segments: Retail Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Markets. The service offering is further augmented by the subsidiaries Stefnir and Vörður. Stefnir is one of the largest fund management companies in Iceland, and Vörður is the fastest growing insurance company in Iceland, providing non-life and life insurance.
Why Klappir?
Data regarding Arion Bank environmental impact is prepared in partnership with Klappir. Having the data in most cases streamed directly from the service providers to Klappir Sustainability Platform, was paramount in the decision to choose Klappir. Wherever data streaming was not available, accounting data is used. Furthermore, for extra insurance, the data is reviewed by Klappir sustainability specialists for validation.
The problem Arion Bank was facing was a lack of overview of environmental factors. There were some indications in various departments and systems, taking up labour to consolidate data for reporting. Arion Bank needed a baseline and from there, continuous measurement with approved methodology.
Klappir fulfilled all of the above mentioned criteria, for streamlining the approach for measuring and quantifying environmental impact. Allowing Arion Bank to improve, adjust and focus on sustainability and environmental matters. It has been a journey of continuous improvement cycles both with Klappir and within Arion Bank. Klappir has provided Arion Bank with the tools it needs to consolidate all environmental data in one place.
Results
Arion Bank has reported on their achievements regarding the status and actions in environmental and climate issues since 2016. The base year for the Bank’s environmental accounts is 2015, and the aim is to have reduced emissions from their activities by 55% by 2030. The highlights of the environmental accounts for 2021 can be seen here.
Total emissions of greenhouse gasses from own operations, i.e. from vehicles and business premises, have decreased by 37.6% since 2015 (Scope 1 and 2). Of this total, total emissions from vehicles decreased by 64.8% and from business premises by 12.8%.
Testimonial
“Since 2015, Arion Bank has been working successfully with Klappir. When working on the Bank's sustainability reporting, it is highly useful to use accurate data streams from service providers in real-time. It reinforces the data's reliability and confidence. There are exciting times ahead. We are working alongside Klappir to measure the carbon footprint of all our loans to understand our clients better.”
Hlédís Sigurðardóttir, Sustainability Officer at Arion Bank.
Environmental statement
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