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Stakeholder engagement and materiality analysis
Sparebanken Møre has chosen UN Sustainable Development Goal 17 Partnerships for the Goals as a key priority area for its work on sustainability. We have a broad and complex group of stakeholders and believe that all of the groups are increasingly interested in how the bank addresses its social mission and how we can achieve the goals together.
Our stakeholders
We have defined the following as our main stakeholders:
Materiality analysis
The bank conducted a materiality analysis in 2020 to identify the sustainability topics that are important to our stakeholders and at the same time important for the bank’s capacity for long-term value creation. The analysis shows how the bank can reinforce its positive impacts and where it can reduce its negative impacts within sustainability.
A survey was produced as part of conducting the analysis in which different topics within the environmental, social conditions and governance (ESG) criteria must be ranked (important, more important, most important). Internal respondents represented the bank’s various stakeholders in the survey based on their knowledge of what areas are important to the different groups. A supplementary document was produced that contained definitions of concepts to ensure that the respondents had a common understanding of the survey’s various topics.
The stakeholders’ answers were then viewed in the context of the bank’s strategy and an assessment was made of the various topics’ impacts on the capacity for long-term value creation. The topics were discussed in the bank’s executive management group and were also presented to the bank’s Board of Directors.
Based on an overall assessment, the following ten topics were defined as the most material for Sparebanken Møre’s sustainability work:
Topics that ended up in the areas at the bottom and furthest to the left were eliminated from the matrix. The remaining topics are regarded as the most material and are reported on in the annual report in line with GRI.
Stakeholder engagement in 2020
Engagement with our stakeholders is a high priority in Sparebanken Møre and during 2020 we were in contact with our stakeholders in various ways. A schematic summary of the main features of the stakeholder engagement is provided below:
| Stakeholder | Engagement/meeting place | Main topics for stakeholder | Relevant measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customers | Customer meetings/customer contact | Contact with customer service | Social media | Events | Nearby, tempo and local knowledge | User-friendly products and services | Expertise and restructuring | Contribution to business development | Engagement linked to how sustainability impacts the individual industry | Establishment/further development of digital and self-service solutions | Close follow-up and financial advice in a demanding year due to Covid-19 | Implementation of topic meetings | Participation in Growth | Guarantee Scheme | Implementation of NÆRINGSTEFTwith ten different technical topics | Facilitation of the information for entrepreneurs on sbm.no | Sustainability has been incorporated into the Bank’s industry analyses |
| Employees | Working environment survey | Employee development | Management development | Employee performance and development interviews | Meetings with group employee representative committee | Gender equality and diversity | Attractive workplace | Culture of learning and development | Labour law and working environment | National authorisation scheme for financial advisers (AFR) | Results from the working environment survey were followed up by all heads of department | Establishment of sustainability committee | Skills development through participation in various workshops and sustainability forums | Implementation of a number of courses through NanoLearning | Facilitation for courses and further education |
| Capital market, rating agencies and analysts | Ongoing contact via telephone/video meetings | Market announcements and interim reports | General Meeting | Other events under internal or external directioni | Financial results | Open and ethical conduct | Competitive return for owners | Focus on close monitoring, transparency and equal treatment | Establishment of the green framework | ESG information was expanded and made more accessible in the Bank’s channels | Establishment of new IR pages on sbm.no | Implementation of quarterly presentations |
| Suppliers | Ongoing contact via telephone/video/in-person meetings | Regular follow-up meetings | Open and ethical conduct | Requirements for suppliers | Expertise and restructuring | Sustainability, principles, choices of materials, transport, climate | More partner meetings throughout the year, where sustainability is one of several topics on the agenda | Sustainability is included as an assessment criterion when new partners are assessed | Sustainability has been incorporated as a separate point in routines for procurement |
| Partners | Ongoing contact via telephone/video/in-person meetings | Regular follow-up meetings | Support for research into sustainability topics | Contribution to business development | Support for local communities | Open and ethical conduct | Expertise and adapting to sustainability | EU green deal and taxonomy | Sustainable finance | Support for research projects with Møreforskning and NTNU | Partnership with Møre og Romsdal County Authority to map the county in line with U4SSC on sustainable regional development | Partner in United Future Lab Norway and participation in various sustainability projects | Partnership on seminars and conferences where sustainability is a recurring topic, including North West, The Next Wave, FARM, etc. | Participation and expert contributions in various networking groups | Close partnership with partners in implementation of NÆRINGSTEFT | Participated in various workshops with sustainability as a topic at partners |
| Competitors | Telephone/video/in-person meetings | Email correspondence | Expertise and restructuring | Sustainable business models | Sustainability reporting | Partnership on development work | Sharing experiences and opportunities linked to various sustainability commitments/initiatives | Sharing experiences and knowledge through participation in multidisciplinary reference groups, in under direction of Finance Norway |
| Authorities | Participation in various boards and committees | Telephone/video/in-person meetings | Risk assessments from a sustainability perspective | Responsible lending | Anti-money laundering work | Preventing corruption and financial crime | Good corporate governance | Stable and secure IT solutions | Privacy and information security | Implementation of the EU’s sustainability regulations | Incorporation of ESG factors into the credit work | Obtaining of valid forms of identification and ongoing updating of customers | Reporting in line with requirements and expectations | Implementation of ICT action plan | Implementation of ESG factors in internal overarching guidelines and framework |
| Clubs and organisations (support through funds for good causes) | Ongoing contact via telephone/video/in-person meetings | Event participation | Support for local communities | Expertise and restructuring | Covid-19 consequences | Exclusion and gender equality | Diversity | Sustainability in sponsorship agreements | Support for clubs and organisations, also including Covid-19 related support measures | Behind new recording of ‘Optimist’ to contribute to income generating work for actors in the regional culture and music industry | Awarding of talent grants to 16 talented young people in Nordvestlandet |
| Research and academia | Ongoing contact via telephone/video/in-person meetings | Event participation | Directorships | Study programme board | Guest lectures | Expertise and restructuring | Support for research | Sustainable business models | Study programme board NTNU | Guest lectures at university and university colleges | Major financial contributor to research activities | Main partner for Young Entrepreneurship Møre og Romsdal (Ungt Entreprenørskap) | Support for youth and student companies | Active contributor to activities in the TEFT-lab |
| Industry and special interest organisations | Ongoing contact via telephone/video/in-person meetings | Event participation | Participation in network/reference groups | Open and ethical conduct | Expertise and restructuring | Participation in a reference group for sustainability and climate groups under the auspices of Finance Norway | Establishment of partnership with ‘Plastfritt Hav’ (‘Plastics free oceans’) on clean up plastics from the coast | Participation in the Sustainability Group of Nordic Future Innovation. |
| Media | Ongoing engagement through digital and in-person meetings | Open and ethical conduct | Expertise and restructuring | Focus on openness, accessibility, precise information and fast response | Tips on relevant cases | Facilitation of relevant information |