Social performance indicators for financial institutions have been set out in a supplement to the Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines on sustainability reporting.
The GRI-approved indicators have been developed by ten financial institutions, including Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Rabobank and Swiss Re, and put together by Zurich-based E2 Management Consulting with the help of labour and human rights organizations.
Social performance indicators for other sectors are expected to be published soon.
GRI says the supplements are an acknowledgement that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that different sectors need specific guidance on what indicators they should use.
Among other things, the finance supplement says banks and insurance companies should report on what they are doing to:
improve access to financial services for ‘disadvantaged populations’ and small and medium-sized enterprises
reduce the debts of developing countries
offer products likely to appeal to ethical investors.
Sustainability reports should also detail whether the company is developing employee bonuses and commissions that ‘are not oriented purely towards short-term financial success, and which contain additional sustainability elements’.
It says that senior executive bonuses linked solely to short-term financial results may lead to some individuals neglecting the company’s social and environmental performance, and argues that this is not desirable even from a purely financial perspective.