Environmental responsibility

Environmental responsibility

Under environmental responsibility you’ll find information on how we take the environment and climate into account in our operations as well as the environmental and climate targets we have set.

Our goal is to reduce our ecological footprint and to increase positive environmental effects in our own operations and in our value chain. We seek to improve the assessment of our ecological and climate footprint and handprint, and report on them annually as part of our sustainability reporting.

At the Savings Banks Group, we want to look after the environment through our day-to-day actions. With our digital services, we also seek to reduce our customers’ need to travel to our branches for their banking needs. By providing our customers with the opportunity to do their banking from home, we reduce the need to travel by car, for example, which reduces the carbon footprint. We also strive to reduce paper consumption and take advantage of digital archives, among other things. For example, we promote projects related to assessing the carbon footprint of our own operations and the carbon footprint of the loan portfolio.

The Savings Banks Group has set climate targets as part of its sustainability strategy. The Savings Banks Group aims to be carbon positive in its own operations (scope 1 and 2) by 2035. The interim target is to reduce the carbon footprint of the electricity consumption of operating locations by 50 per cent (compared to 2021) by the end of 2030 at the latest.

Renewable energy and solar panels are used at some of the Savings Banks Group’s business premises. In addition, the Vallila property in Helsinki (Vallila 33 Business Park), for example, offers EV charging stations and a bicycle parking area for commuters. We encourage employees to adopt eco-efficient practices, such as using public transport and biking, and we replace business trips and meetings with telephone and video conferences.

We have implemented energy saving measures in cooperation with property owners in areas such as heating, ventilation, lighting, water consumption, automation, reduction of the use of advertising lights and energy efficiency of equipment. The first locations included in our Green Office pilot group achieved WWF Green Office environmental certification. With certificates now having been awarded to eight branches, we will expand these measures to other locations later.

Payment card from ocean plastic

The carbon handprint of the Säästöpankki Ympäristö fund

The carbon footprint illustrates adverse impacts that accelerate climate change, while the carbon handprint illustrates positive climate impacts through reduced emissions. Säästöpankki Ympäristö is a special investment fund whose investments focus on environmental innovation and impact through companies that contribute to the green transition. The investments are selected on the basis of promoting environmentally sustainable development, which simultaneously contributes to the carbon handprint.

The estimated emissions reduction through capital investment in solar and wind energy through the Säästöpankki Ympäristö special investment fund is approximately 35,000 tonnes of CO2 during the investment period. This equals approximately 35,000 return flights from Helsinki to London for families of three.
Säästöpankki Ympäristö special investment fund also makes capital investments in a biorefinery. Renewable biodiesel that uses crude fatty acids as raw material has 80–90% lower CO2 emissions than fossil diesel, which corresponds to approximately 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, based on the estimated production capacity of the plant in question. This reduction, in turn, equals the annual CO2 emissions of approximately 70,000 diesel cars. The estimated emissions reduction for this biorefinery during the Säästöpankki Ympäristö investment period is 9,139 tonnes of CO2.

The investments of the Säästöpankki Ympäristö special investment fund consist of direct equity investments, environmental equity and ETF funds, private equity funds, direct green bonds and cash. The Säästöpankki Ympäristö special investment fund is intended for investors with a long-term investment horizon. Fund units can only be subscribed and redeemed four times per year. Redemptions and subscriptions can be carried out on the last day of March, June, September and December.

More information on the impact of the Säästöpankki Ympäristö special investment fund and the positive environmental impacts of the funds is available in our Responsible Investment Review.