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Sustainability Compass

Our approach to sustainability and social responsibility

Responsibility that evolves over time

It is our policy to operate on a sustainable basis, both in our banking business and in our relationship with society and the environment. When it comes to the transformation towards a sustainable economy, the financial sector has a key role to play. It is our intention to take an active part in this transformation, which is why we have adopted sustainability as a strategic factor.

Piktogramm einer strahlenden Glühbirne

Our sustainability goals

In this context, the term “sustainability” refers to social topics and corporate governance in addition to environmental aspects. Together, these three fields are abbreviated to “ESG”, a combination of the first letters of the terms “Environmental”, “Social” and “Governance”.

  • We support our clients on the road towards climate neutrality

  • We make an active contribution to climate change mitigation and environmental protection

  • We incorporate sustainability aspects into our governance culture

  • We combine a corporate approach with social responsibility

  • We champion sustainability at the public level

Portrait von Holger Sandker

"Sustainability is a mission for the whole of society, a challenge to which every individual and every institution can – and should – make a contribution! Banks are playing a key role in this transformation. While leading by example in our own right, we at OLB also want to be a multiplier and support our clients in their development of sustainable business models."


Holger Sandker
Head of Sustainability

Our mission statement
As a member of the Association of German Banks, we are committed to the Principles for Responsible Banking, developed by the UN together with 30 international banks, and have adopted them as a guiding framework in our business strategy.

Focus

We have defined our business strategy with the aim of avoiding any conflict with the fulfilment of basic human needs and social goals, as expressed in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Impact

We strive to amplify the positive impact of our activities, products and services on society and the environment, while reducing any negative impacts and managing the associated risks.

Clients

As a lender we work responsibly with our clients in order to encourage sustainable practices and promote economic activities conducive to the creation of equitable prosperity for present and future generations.

Stakeholders

We engage relevant stakeholders where appropriate and work together as partners to achieve social objectives.

Corporate governance and objectives

We aim to implement these principles through effective corporate governance and a responsible corporate culture. Our goals and objectives should reflect this aspiration and commitment.

Transparency and accountability

We will review our individual and collective contributions to the implementation of these principles and report on the positive and negative impacts and contributions to our social objectives where necessary.

Responsible banking is a high priority for us, as is our awareness of the impact of our business activities on the environment and society. We report on this annually in our sustainability statement.

We’re committed

We contribute to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We support the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement

Our ESG policy

Our business strategy is guided by the principles of responsible banking. This mission statement is further substantiated by our ESG policy, which sets out our key sustainability principles. As we continue to evolve this policy, we will progress through four phases.

  • Establishment of a reliable database as a baseline for our sustainability goals
    Building a reliable data base in the ESG environment is a crucial prerequisite for the further development of our strategic framework and for all subsequent steps. Aside from measuring the environmental footprint of our own business operations, it is particularly important to quantify the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that are financed by our bank, as well as the ESG risks inherent in our loan portfolio.

  • Analysis of ESG opportunities and risks
    The acquisition of the data will be followed by in-depth analysis of the associated opportunities and risks. This also involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our ESG governance approach. In the longer term, we aim to establish an ESG-based pricing and steering mechanism designed to mitigate ESG risks, while also leveraging the business opportunities that come with the transformation in our role as a lender.

  • Creation of a robust ESG governance policy
    We are setting binding quantitative targets for our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions along with social and corporate governance targets. On top of this, we are creating internal structures and processes to accelerate the implementation of our sustainability strategy, including the carbon emission targets.

  • Focus on transparency
    We publish sustainability information to provide our stakeholders with transparent insights into our sustainability strategy and to enable an assessment of OLB’s sustainability goals and activities.

Social responsibility

Taking on social responsibility above and beyond the banking business is a matter of great importance to us. Primarily, this responsibility is handled by the OLB Foundation, which was established on the Bank’s 125th anniversary.

Commitment to culture, education, and environmental protection

We are involved in numerous cultural, educational and environmental projects mostly designed for people living in the northwest of Germany, which we develop and sponsor in collaboration with various project partners.

In addition, we support social causes, among them:

  • Hospice work at the “Day of Children’s Hospice Work (TADEA)” conference of the Oldenburg Hospice Service Foundation.

  • Organizational work of the Ganderkesee-Hude hospice association

  • Inclusion in the Martinsclub Bremen e.V. soccer tournament and in the all-day holiday childcare scheme provided by the German Red Cross district association North

  • Integration in welcome classes provided by Ukraine-Hilfe Osnabrück e. V.

  • Integration guides in the Cloppenburg district

We also focus on many other projects in the fields of youth and sports activities as well as monument and local heritage preservation. For instance, the Foundation was involved in the “Energy Vision 2050” school project covering the entire Weser-Ems region, in the European Parliament simulation game in Oldenburg, in a multicord installation at the Ankum elementary school and in the renovation of the church steeple of the protestant reformed parish of Uttum.

Social responsibility

The transformation towards a sustainable economy is a mission for the whole of society, a challenge to which we want to make an active contribution. Our business practices promote the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a number of ways, most notably the following:

Sustainable Development Goal 3

Health and well-being

SDG 3:

"Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages"

Our contribution:

Comprehensive workplace health management is an important matter for us. We also support various health projects, such as “Klasse 2000” in schools and clubs, which focus specifically on the topics of nutrition, exercise and the prevention of violence and addiction.

Sustainable Development Goal 4

Quality education

SDG 4:

"Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all"

Our contribution:

Our OLB Science Award has been set up to support young scientists committed to helping the Northwest move forward. With a total endowment of EUR 22,000, our prize is the biggest science award in northwest Germany. We are also keen to promote cooperation and dialogue between science and industry. Through their research and development work, universities and colleges make a significant contribution to sustaining and expanding the regional economy. We also support these efforts with selected endowed professorships.

Moreover, we offer funding to universities and colleges in the Northwest via our Deutschlandstipendium scholarship program, and provide applicant training courses at schools.

The OLB Foundation also funds a number of projects set up by other educational programs and initiatives.

Sustainable Development Goal 8

Sustainable growth

SDG 8:

"Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all"

Our contribution:

It goes without saying that we respect and uphold human rights and firmly reject forced labor, child labor and exploitation. We do not tolerate any violation of human rights by employees, clients, business partners or service providers.

Based on the national and international guidelines, sanctions, embargoes and similar restrictions to which we are subject in our capacity as a bank, we screen all new contractual partners prior to signing any contracts and have established our own internal guidelines for this purpose.

Sustainable Development Goal 11

Safe cities

SDG 11:

"Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable"

Our contribution:

Alongside the significant share of private construction financing in our loan portfolio, we also act as a premium partner in public-sector funding for sustainable construction projects.

On top of this, the OLB Foundation awards the OLB Prize for Architecture and Civil Engineering to promote planning and construction quality in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony and create awareness of good building practices. Our 2022 competition attracted applications from architects in the Northwest whose projects are of significant architectural merit. Aside from conceptual and functional priorities, relevant selection criteria include ecological quality as well as design and choice of materials.

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Our ESG-Policy

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All ESG publications

ESG publications