From as-is to target ESG: analyzing the status quo, defining ambitions, drafting the road map

zeb was asked to determine a bank’s internal ESG status and provide detailed recommendations.

Dr. Bernd Liesenkötter, Partner at zeb: Yes, on this project, we collaborated closely with many of the client’s employees. In a series of workshops with around 50 managers – not only from the first, but also from the second and third level – we gained an overview of the bank’s status quo regarding ESG. From this, we derived measures in further workshops to embed the topic in strategy, risk management/reporting, customer business, communication and HR management. In a third meeting, we discussed all the measures in detail and scheduled their implementation.

Was it clear beforehand that such a procedure could require a great deal of effort?

Dr. Bernd Liesenkötter: Yes, but after all, ESG affects the entire bank. If an institution wants to implement ESG properly and has put little time into it so far, it needs to engage and convince all areas. That’s why we deliberately involved all the relevant people – and there were quite a few of them. This made the process more time-consuming, but it was the only way to get a comprehensive overview and create a common understanding. ESG is everyone’s business, so colleagues in risk management need to map ESG in their models, sales staff need to incorporate ESG into their customer meetings, and IT staff need to collect the right ESG data. We deliberately used a broad approach to get everyone on board, consolidate the multitude of topics and translate them into individual measures – carefully prioritized according to strategy and regulatory requirements.

“ESG affects the entire bank” – does this approach mean that ESG then happens by itself?

Dr. Bernd Liesenkötter: If you channel it properly in light of its diverse aspects, yes. But since ESG affects the entire institution, banks always have a problem organizing this subject. Where is ESG actually embedded in the organizational chart and who is responsible for it? We often delve very deeply into the topic with our clients: Which sustainability issues are located where in the organization, who has decision-making authority over what, and what is the supervisory authority’s view on all this? Without such clarification, responsibility for ESG may be divided between the management board and the risk or compliance departments, which could lead to a dispute over authority. An ESG check can avoid this problem by clearly assigning tasks and responsibilities.

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