In keeping with its mission of being a sustainable bank, Triodos Bank takes great care of its own environmental performance. We continue to play a leading role, exemplifying how values-based banks and businesses in general can operate in an environmentally responsible way.
Triodos Bank limits its environmental footprint as much as it can, avoiding the emissions of greenhouse gases wherever possible. It offsets any unavoidable emissions. Triodos Bank measures the footprint of its operations, registers it in a CO2 management system and compensates for it fully with Gold Standard1 carbon-offset projects.
Triodos Bank reports on all its direct emissions (gas consumption for heating and fossil fuels for company and lease cars) and its most relevant indirect emissions related to its business operations (electricity, commuting travel, business travel, paper, waste and downstream-leased assets). It also discloses the amount of energy used through both electricity and gas in all its banking entities.
Absolute CO2e emissions in 2022
2021 total: 942 tonnes CO2e
Gas consumption (heating) | 4.5% |
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Fossil-fuelled company cars & lease cars | 14.6% |
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Electricity | 0.8% |
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Electric company cars & lease cars | 3.7% |
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Privately owned cars, rental cars & taxis | 31.1% |
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Public transport | 4.6% |
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Flights | 22.1% |
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Paper | 3.2% |
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Waste | 1.9% |
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Downstream leased assets | 13.6% |
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Triodos Bank’s Science Based Targets – footprint of our operations
Triodos has committed itself to the Science Based Targets initiative. Together with SBTi, in 2022 we worked on a validated set of (intermediate) targets. These targets were approved by SBTi on 10 March 2023. For the scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions related to our own operations, the following targets were set:
Scope 1 and 2
Triodos Bank commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 63% by 2035 from a 2020 base year.
Triodos Bank commits to increase annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 98.6% in 2020 to 100% by 2030.
Scope 3 category 1-14
Triodos Bank commits to reduce absolute scope 3 categories 1-14 GHG emissions 63% by 2035 from a 2020 base year.
For our scope 3 portfolio targets related to our financed emissions, please refer to Climate impact of our loans and investments .
The year at a glance
The COVID-19 crisis has permanently changed the way of working, meeting and doing business. We have embraced the hybrid way of working, resulting in a decline in our emissions. After the lockdown restrictions, we saw higher occupancy rates in the offices towards the end of the year, compared to the beginning of the year. The consequences of this are visible in the CO2e emissions of our organisation: emissions were higher in 2022 compared to 2021, but show a sharp decline compared to the years before the COVID-19 crisis. We don't expect them to return to pre-crisis levels anymore.
Emissions from waste generated in operations and downstream leased assets have been added to the reporting scope retroactively from 2020.
The CO2e emissions per FTE in 2022 increased to 0.74 tonnes, compared to 0.57 tonnes in 2021 and the total CO2e emissions across the whole of Triodos Bank increased from 942 tonnes CO2e in 2021 to 1,308 tonnes CO2e in 2022. These increases are mainly caused by more mobility (both for commuting and business travel), as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in the first quarter of 2022. There has been a decrease in electricity consumption of 22% per FTE and a reduction of 17% of gas consumption per FTE as a result of downsizing office space. Commuting travel per FTE has increased to 0.25 tonnes/FTE (2021: 0.15 tonnes/FTE), as meeting and travel restrictions were lifted in the first quarter of 2022. For the same reasons, business travel has also increased, from 0.10 tonnes/FTE in 2021 to 0.21 tonnes/FTE in 2022.
The amount of blank copy recycled paper decreased further to 1.8 kg per FTE (2021: 2.3 kg per FTE). The amount of recycled printed paper was 0.04 kg per customer (0.07 kg per customer in 2021).
Details of the methodology Triodos Bank uses to calculate its CO2e emissions are available on our website.
Impact of location-independent working
The new hybrid way of working means that the impact of Triodos Bank's operations significantly shifts from offices towards other locations, in most cases private homes. Thus, working from home is deemed significantly material. Triodos Bank calculated the number of days worked from home. Across all business units, this is estimated to be 112 days per FTE in 2022, which is about 50% of total working days. This is a decrease compared to 2021 (172 days per FTE), because office occupancy rates went up after the first quarter of 2022 when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Location-independent working has proven to be a widely accepted alternative to working at the office. Most co-workers appreciate this new hybrid way of working. In almost all business units, co-workers will continue to work partially from home.
The impact of location-independent working is not (yet) quantifiable, as a mature, (internationally) accepted methodology for calculating CO2e emissions for this is not yet available. In striving to limit its environmental footprint, the impact of working from home poses an interesting dilemma for Triodos Bank. Choices about energy systems and devices at home are private and not for the employer to decide. Reducing or minimising the impact of working from home is challenging, but might also offer opportunities for engagement with co-workers.
Sustainable property
Triodos Bank wants its buildings to be as sustainable as possible. It therefore makes continuous improvements to enhance their sustainability, without compromising on comfort.
The structural shift towards working more from home has led Triodos Bank to review the projected needs and uses of office space for all business units. In the Netherlands this has led to the selling of the former head office buildings in Zeist. These were transferred to a new owner in May 2022. All co-workers in the Netherlands are now based at De Reehorst, an office building that has been in use since the end of 2019.
After commissioning a building, it usually takes at least a year of normal use to adjust all systems so that the building functions optimally in all circumstances. In 2020 and 2021, we were not able to use the building as planned, because of low occupancy rates due to COVID-19 restrictions. Therefore, we were only able to conclude in 2022, that the actual energy consumption is higher than predicted by the models used in the design phase. This means the solar panels at De Reehorst do not produce enough electricity for the building to be considered energy neutral, even though it was developed as such. Triodos Bank still has the ambition of De Reehorst being energy neutral and will continue to work on reducing energy consumption and investigate possibilities for additional renewable electricity production.
In December 2023, the Brussels office will move to Quatuor, a sustainable, multi-tenant office building. Quatuor is an office building with BREEAM Outstanding Certification2 for design. In Spain, ten offices have been relocated. All new offices are smaller and six are in co-working centers, sharing spaces with like-minded companies and organisations.
Sustainable mobility
Mobility was at a higher level than in 2021, a year of very low mobility due to COVID-19 restrictions. After two years of declining mileage, 2022 shows an increase in both commuting and business travel. Travel by public transport has increased the most: commuting travel by public transport to 1,778 km/FTE (+ 188% compared to 2021) and business travel by public transport to 404 km/FTE (+244% compared to 2021). A new mobility policy for commuting and business travel in the Netherlands and the relocation of all co-workers in the Netherlands at De Reehorst, next to a railway station, are probably the main reasons for this shift towards public transport.
Business travel by aircraft was 897 km/FTE, a rise of 134% compared to 2021, but is still on a much lower level than in 2019 (3,622 km/FTE).
In Summer 2022, a new international travel policy was formulated and introduced for all business units, with principles like travelling by train when travelling less than 700 kilometres and in case of air travel, the default being direct flight in economy class.
Sustainable business operations
Triodos Bank aims to reduce its impact in day-to-day business operations. That covers topics like waste management, catering and cleaning. Waste generated in operations has been added to the reporting scope retroactively from 2020. We want to inspire our co-workers and to challenge our suppliers.
We completed a Group-wide (excluding Germany) procurement process for new printers. In addition to taking the sustainability performance of the printer itself into account, the most impact has been achieved through a 41% reduction in the number of printers.
In the Netherlands, we participated in a TruePrice pilot of our caterer. For three months, we gave the co-worker the opportunity to pay the TruePrice for three products: in addition to the market price, the co-worker could also choose to pay the social and environmental costs. Results are expected in the first quarter of 2023.
Working with sustainable suppliers
Triodos Bank tries to extend its positive impact on society through the sustainable choices it makes about its suppliers. The process through which it buys goods and services is a material topic for the organisation.
The procurement policy used across the countries aims to ensure that we engage sustainable suppliers. Triodos Bank applies the policy to determine the extent to which suppliers are aligned with its business principles and minimum standards.
In addition, and importantly, Triodos Bank’s policy is proactively to strive to improve the social, environmental and cultural impact of both its procured goods and services and the organisations that deliver them. Steps will be taken in the coming years to further strengthen the monitoring of the application of the policy, learn from best practice across the Triodos Bank network and engage in dialogue with suppliers to stimulate improvement in their sustainability performance. This should further deepen the impact of Triodos Bank’s mission.
Our key objectives for 2022 | How we did | Progress | |||||
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Sustainable mobility: Formulate and introduce an updated international travel policy, with sustainability as an important starting point | We introduced a new, Group-wide International Travel policy, with travel safety and sustainability as keystones. Regarding sustainability, we introduced guiding principles, like trains being the default when travelling less than 700 kilometres and, in case of flying, direct flight in economy class being the default. | ● ● ● | |||||
Working with sustainable suppliers: | Over the past year, we have further developed our maturity level in our team and the skills within the team to be able to better support our business in assessing the sustainability impact of our suppliers. We have also started working on creating a Supplier Code of Conduct, which will help our organisation to stimulate our suppliers even more to work on improving their sustainability. We have also been working on selecting a new data vendor to help us assess the impact position on vendors, to help those vendors become even more sustainable. | ● ○ ○ | |||||
Circular business operations: Develop an inventory of the possibilities for a circular approach to ICT resources in the Netherlands | A group of students has investigated the possibilities for a more circular approach of our ICT resources in the Netherlands, focusing on the use phase and the disposal phase. The conclusion was that we are already doing quite well. The most concrete finding was a recommendation for cooperation with an organisation that works with waste compensation. We will follow up on that recommendation in 2023. | ● ● ● | |||||
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Prospects for 2023
Sustainable business operations: Draw up a plan for the reduction of our CO2e emissions, related to our housing and our car fleet (our Scope 1 and 2 emissions).
Waste management: Improve data quality of the waste generated in operations.
Working with sustainable suppliers: Set the first steps in assessing the impact position of our most critical suppliers and next steps in the implementation of our Supplier Code of Conduct.
- Gold Standard was established in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs to ensure projects that reduced carbon emissions featured the highest levels of environmental integrity and also contributed to sustainable development. More info: https://www.goldstandard.org/
- BREEAM is the world's leading science-based suite of validation and certification systems for sustainable built environments.