Climate change, or global warming, is the one of the hottest topics of discussion at present. What is ING’s position? The climate is changing. In order to gain a better insight into climate change and the possible solutions, in 2005 ING became a member of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change, an initiative of The Earth Institute at New York’s Colombia University.
ING subscribes to the joint statement by the Roundtable, which calls on society to establish scientifically informed global targets for greenhouse gas concentrations and to make commitments for action in pursuit of the agreed targets. ING also takes individual action. Here’s what we do:
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• ING is the first major Dutch financial institution to be 100% carbon neutral. This means that by lowering our energy consumption, using green energy and offsetting carbon consumption by planting trees, we have reduced our net CO2 emission to zero. In the Netherlands, the USA and Belgium we exclusively use green energy and offset the remaining CO2 emissions, caused by for example air travel, through (re)forestation of tropical rainforest in Malaysia. As this region is home to animal species that are in danger of extinction, this certified project enables us to contribute towards maintaining local biodiversity.
• We have cut the number of business trips and stimulate the use of public transport.
• Company cars of ING staff in the Netherlands are energy-efficient (A, B or C energy labels).
• ING aims to use paper from sustainable sources whenever possible, for instance paper with an FSC certificate. Most of the paper we use worldwide now carries an FSC or other sustainability certificate.
• Our internal corporate programme ‘Orange Goes Green' invites staff to make a personal contribution to a cleaner environment. We will continue our efforts to use less and greener energy and to increase our use of sustainable products. For there is always room for improvement. For news about the latest developments, go to our website www.ing.com/cr. ING is looking at ways of making not just its own corporate activities but also its services more environmentally friendly. Examples include a carbon neutral car leaseproduct (ING EcoLease), sustainable initiatives in ING Real Estate projects and investment funds such as the Postbank Klimaatfonds (climate fund). For more information about these and other initiatives, go to our website www.ing.com/cr.
In 2008, ING was included in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) of the leading Carbon Disclosure Project for the fifth year running.
The CDLI lists 68 companies that excel in the disclosure of their awareness of the risks and opportunities of climate change, as well as the quality and effectiveness of programs put in place to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.