Corporate Responsibility

At Anglo Irish Bank we recognise our corporate obligations and responsibilities and are committed to fulfilling them. We take a responsible approach to environmental issues and are proactive in seeking innovative ways in which to become more efficient. In addition, a fundamental aspect of our Corporate Responsibility (‘CR’) strategy has been our commitment to supporting the development of the wider community.

We continually invest in the development and training of our staff, as well as maintaining quality relationships with our stakeholders.

Environment

Global warming and climate change are substantial concerns in today’s world. As a corporate citizen Anglo Irish Bank recognises its responsibility to the environment and aims to operate in a way which minimises its carbon footprint.

The Bank has an Energy Policy which recognises the importance of practising energy efficiency to minimise costs and impact on the environment and has appointed an Energy Manager with responsibility for promoting and managing this agenda throughout the Bank.

We are seeking to monitor, and would like to be in a position to report on, our carbon footprint as an organisation. In this regard we have initiated measurement within the Bank on aspects of the Bank’s impact on the environment and we have started to obtain carbon tracking reports from a range of our suppliers. It is the Bank’s preference to source and deal with environmentally focused and aware suppliers. The Bank has incorporated this preference into its tendering processes.

In 2009, to track three elements of the Bank’s impact on the environment, the Bank commenced measuring electrical, gas and water consumption in our Irish offices and where possible in our overseas offices. On 28 March 2009, coinciding with Environmental Awareness Week, our Irish offices participated in Earth Hour 2009 with staff members being made aware of the need to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and reduce light pollution in the night skies.

The Bank has replaced its entire printer and photocopier fleet with a smaller number of new higher specification multifunction devices which conform to the best in class standards for minimising carbon footprint and energy consumption. The new multi-function devices support secure printing through the use of swipe cards and this has helped to reduce the volume of print output.

The Bank has now virtualised all of its production servers on to a smaller number of higher specification servers which consume less power. All of the Bank’s production server and storage infrastructure is now stored in purpose-built data centres where best in class air and water cooling are used to reduce power consumption, recycle water and reduce carbon footprint.

The Bank continues to use an energy company which is committed to sourcing most of its energy supplies from renewable sources. In Ireland, the Bank participated in the Electricity Winter Demand Reduction Scheme (‘WDRS’) from December 2009 to March 2010. Available information to date confirms that we achieved our committed reduction in electrical consumption.

It is Bank policy to recycle paper, cardboard, glass and computer consumables where possible. All electronic and electrical equipment is disposed of in a safe and environmentally responsible way as stipulated in the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic equipment Directive. The use of technology such as email and electronic payments across the Group has significantly reduced paper usage. The Bank encourages its customers to receive electronic statements and to utilise electronic payments. In addition, the use of video, web meetings and teleconferencing facilities across all offices is reducing our business travel and therefore minimising our carbon footprint.

It is important to the Bank to continue to increase the environmental awareness of the Group’s staff. In 2009, we increased our waste recycling rates through improved waste segregation methods and awareness amongst staff in our Dublin offices. To enable us to monitor these waste flows, they are now being formally measured and reported on by our service provider. We will continue to focus our attention in 2010 on further reducing resource consumption and maintaining responsible methods of waste disposal.

The Bank has actively promoted the Government’s Cycle to Work Scheme which was introduced in January 2009.

In keeping with our environmental policies, we have worked with our print partner to minimise the environmental impact of our Annual Report publication. The paper selected for the Annual Report comes from certified well managed forests, accredited by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification ('PEFC') to a standard known as Chain of Custody. These certified forests are managed to ensure long term timber supplies while protecting the environment and the lives of forest dependent people. The Bank is pleased to be able to add the PEFC logo to this report as evidence of achieving this standard.

Community

Our community strategy seeks to ensure that the Bank does its part in encouraging social inclusiveness and supporting the young and disadvantaged. Our approach to CR in the community is rooted in the generosity and commitment of our staff, who give their time and effort to support a wide range of worthwhile causes.

The Bank is a founding member of Business in the Community (‘BITC’) which works with Irish companies seeking to make a positive impact on society through numerous initiatives which focus on community involvement. The Bank has teamed up with BITC in Ireland and the UK to develop various educational initiatives in our community.

In Ireland, the Bank continues to support and develop our mentoring programmes for secondary level students of Warrenmount School in the Liberties district of Dublin. We started this programme in 2000 and since then it has received widespread commitment from staff who, with the Bank’s support, offer their time to help students realise their full potential. To date, over 120 members of staff have been involved with the Warrenmount initiative. The mentoring scheme enables the pupils to develop important personal and professional skills which will undoubtedly benefit their future lives and careers. We have also established programmes with St. Vincent’s Secondary School in Cork, St. Paul’s Community College in Waterford and Coláiste Chiaráin in Limerick.

Our Irish regional offices have also taken a proactive role in supporting education in their local areas. Our staff in Cork, Galway and Waterford have teamed up with Junior Achievement Ireland to educate students about the various career opportunities open to them. This initiative reinforces to students the link between education and developing a future career in the work place.

The Bank has an extensive programme of community activity in the UK, reflective of having operated in the market for over twenty years. Over 250 management and staff have participated in the many programmes the Bank supports. These include mentoring London primary school children through a year-long reading programme, advising school-leavers in pre-employment workshops, and volunteering their time on selected community days for various charities through our membership of BITC.

The management and staff of the Bank feel that supporting the disadvantaged to attain a third level education is of great benefit to both the individual and the wider community. It is an investment that continues to benefit the entire community long after the initial support or funding is provided. To this end, we are pleased to continue our significant Access Scholarship Programmes for disadvantaged students in Dublin City University and University of Limerick. In close cooperation with the universities, these programmes are structured to ensure the participating students are supported throughout the duration of their chosen degree course.

The Bank has also partnered with University College Dublin and Belvedere College in Dublin on individual scholarship funds. The Bank is delighted to invest in the future development of so many talented young people in our communities.

The Bank has a history of supporting a number of charities. In addition to our continued support of the Barnardos’ initiative ‘Leaving Poverty through Learning’, a significant number of our Irish employees participate in a ‘Give As You Earn’ scheme in support of Children Direct, a partnership of five Irish children’s charities: Temple Street Children’s Hospital, the ISPCC, Enable Ireland, Focus Ireland and ActionAid Ireland. Under this initiative, which has been in place since 2004, monthly donations made by staff are matched by the Bank.

The Social Finance Foundation (‘SFF’), a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, was created in 2006. SFF has become a significant wholesale supplier of funding for social finance through Social Lending Organisations who make micro-finance available for borrowers. In 2007, Anglo Irish Bank was one of a number of banks who contributed seed capital totalling €25 million to launch this initiative.

In April 2009, new arrangements were agreed and put in place regarding the SFF’s resourcing by banking institutions to ensure that it will continue to operate on a sustainable, long-term footing. Anglo Irish Bank is one of the contributing institutions making €72 million available in loans over the next 12 years at very competitive interest rates appropriate for social finance.

Workplace

The skill of our people is important to the Bank. We aim to develop our people by furthering their technical and specialist competencies. This ensures that our employees receive the appropriate training to help them undertake their role within the Bank.

In order to further support up-skilling, the Bank is committed to assisting employees in furthering their education. This includes funding to cover approved course fees and study leave in advance of exams.

Employee well-being is of continual importance to us. The Bank runs an Employee Well-Being scheme, which is available to staff in Ireland and is operated in conjunction with an independent consultancy firm. This service offers confidential support to staff on any issues facing them in their personal lives. Similar programmes exist for UK staff (Employee Assistance Programme) and US staff (Ability Assist). From the date they join, all employees are covered under the Bank’s life assurance and disability insurance policies, giving staff members and their families a reassuring level of financial protection. As well as supporting our staff during their careers, we are committed to safeguarding their future later in life. We therefore continue to support an incentive based pension scheme, whereby staff are encouraged to make additional voluntary contributions (‘AVCs’) to their pension. Under the scheme, the Bank matches, on a one-for-one basis, AVCs made by staff up to a pre-defined level.

In conclusion, the staff, new management team and Board of the Bank aspire to uphold a set of core values and principles by which to operate in the best interests of all our stakeholders – the Minister for Finance, customers, staff, suppliers, regulatory bodies and the community.

Third IBF Report on Corporate Social Responsibility

Second IBF Report on Corporate Social Responsibility

IBF Report on Corporate Social Responsibility