Company Profile
ING is a global financial services company providing banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services. We serve more than 75 million customers in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Australia. We draw on our experience and expertise, our commitment to excellent service and our global scale to meet the needs of a broad customer base, comprising individuals, families, small businesses, large corporations, institutions and governments. Based on market capitalisation (31 December 2007), ING is one of the 20 largest financial institutions worldwide.
ING & Sustainability
ING supports the thesis that healthy economic growth and environmental care are two sides of the same coin. Environmental protection is a fundamental part of our commitment to conduct our business responsibly.
As an office-based organisation, our direct impact mainly derives from our energy and paper consumption and from business travel. We have taken several steps to limit this impact on the environment, which have led to the following results:
– ING is the first major Dutch financial institution to be 100% carbon neutral
– 51% of the electricity ING purchases globally is green
– 81% of ING’s business units worldwide have implemented energy efficiency measures
– ING used 19% less energy in 2007 than in 2006
– 75% of our business units promotes public transport for employee commuting
– the use of eco labelled paper increased with 18% in 2007, while the total use of paper has stayed the same
Our financing activities may involve us indirectly in operations which can be harmful to the environment. This mainly applies to financing of the oil, gas, mining, forestry, paper and agricultural sectors. We have drawn up sector-specific policies in order to prevent or limit this indirect impact as much as possible. An example is our policy on forestry and plantations, which states that ING will not provide funding to oil palm companies whose operations involve illegal deforestation or destruction of tropical rain forest. A full overview of our policies is available on our website.
To support our customers in their aim to make a positive contribution to society and the environment, we offer various products that provide environmental benefits. Examples are funds which invest in renewable energy, or Kyoto Protocol emission reduction projects. Our customers can also take advantage of our advisory and screening services to ensure their investments reflect values that are important to them. A full overview of our environmental products is available on our website.
ING & Sustainability on the web
http://www.ing.com/cr