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Banks are Shy in Offering Sustainable Products – Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010

info — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:48:40 +0000

Press Release | Geneva (Switzerland), 1 September 2010

The ethical reputation of banks shows a smaller progress than other sectors, according to the Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010 released today. The reasons are a low volume of positive news regarding products, as well as criticisms related to remunerations and gender discriminations.

After two years of sharp decline, the EthicalQuote calculated for the banking sector has recovered an ascending path. However, most other sectors having shown a better performance over the last year, banks only rank 14th out of 18 sectors in the July 2009 to June 2010 period. Looking at the 2002 – 2010 (June) time frame, the Banking sector is ranked in 10th place. Back in 2007 Banks were ranked 2nd. The current leader is Technology, while Oil & Gas is last.

The Impact of Product criteria group only represents 16% of positive news registered on Banks, against 37% for the 18 sectors benchmark. This group covers criteria such as Eco-Innovative Product, Socially Innovative Product, Product Human Risk, or Product Environmental Risk. Banks are shy in demonstrating the social utility of their products and in presenting their innovations in this field. In most other sectors, sustainable products are central to corporate communication, notably: cleantech, green and fair trade labelling in the food industry, or green cars.

Many banking activities can be described in terms of contribution to sustainable development. But banks don’t use these terms much. What inhibits ethical innovations in this sector? The low level of criticisms targeting banks’ products can be interpreted as a lack of incentives. Secondly, bankers seem to consider that highlighting their sustainable products may be counterproductive to the serious, conservative, cautious, and money-oriented corporate culture and image they show to their clients.

Private and institutional investors are also responsible for the cautiousness of banks regarding products with added social and environmental value. They are primarily interested in preserving and growing their assets. Research shows that investing ethically doesn’t necessarily generate a sacrifice of financial performance; Environment, Social and Governance ratings constitute useful risk management tools. However, the cultural background of Western societies doesn’t help banks to endorse and promote sustainable products, nor does it help pressure groups to encourage banks on this way, and clients to demand these products. We are not used to associate money and good in the same thought.

Other factors have weighted negatively on the ethical reputation of banks last year. Next to the usual suspects (tax issues), Wages was the most active criteria. CEO compensation, traders’ bonuses, and the differential between the highest and the lowest salaries within banks have been abundantly criticized. This report also highlights an increasing amount of negative comments about the status of women at work (discrimination on wages and promotions, a work atmosphere described as unfriendly to women). The wages and women issues, together, constitute one of the most dangerous combinations for the ethical reputation of banks.

On the positive side, banks registered the most points on social sponsorship (philanthropic donations, community investments) and on climate change mitigation. After the 2007 green boom the Climate Change issue remained almost silent during the financial crisis from 2008 to mid-2009. Since then it has recovered its visibility and contribution to the responsible image of the banking sector and of its leaders.

Some banks are less shy than others in their offering of sustainable products, which allows them to score well in Covalence EthicalQuote Ranking. For example, they communicate on their involvement in microfinance and renewable energy projects, on interest rates favorable to green buildings, or on their signing of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

Covalence Banking Sector 2010 analyses and compares the ethical reputation of 29 international banks, internally as well as against the 18 sectors benchmark covering 581 large companies.

The challenge for banks is to add a progressive touch, if not a progressive turn, to their identity, culture, strategy and image, while maintaining a high level of confidence in their customers’ minds. In a competitive environment where beating the market is knowingly difficult, sustainable investments can be a strong differentiator, but it needs subtle educational efforts to demonstrate to asset managers and to their clients that it is compatible with their financial priorities.

More information about Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010:

> Report Extract

> Offer & Order Form

> Press release (.pdf)

About Covalence

Covalence runs EthicalQuote, the ethical reputation scoring system and CSR news database tracking the world’s largest companies. We produce the widely recognized Covalence EthicalQuote Ranking and offer reputation research and ESG ratings to corporates, investors, and non profits.

Covalence research is also available on Bloomberg: COVA ; Capital IQ: Covalence SA, Research Division; TheMarkets.com: Covalence.

The EthicalQuote scoring system has brought the following recognitions and awards to Covalence:

The EthicalQuote scoring system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as labour standards, waste management, product social utility or human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field.

Inspired by stock quotes, EthicalQuote integrates thousands of positive and negative news items found among media, companies, blogs, NGOs and other online sources. The documents are coded, quantified and synthesized into curves and volumes.

Covalence is a limited company based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 2001.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@ethicalquote.com

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@ethicalquote.com

Les banques sont timides dans leur offre de produits durables – Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010

info — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:41:23 +0000

Communiqué de presse | Genève (Suisse), 1 Septembre 2010

English version

La réputation éthique des banques progresse moins que celle des autres secteurs, observe la société genevoise Covalence dans son Banking Sector Report 2010. En cause, un faible volume d’informations positives sur les produits, ainsi que des critiques sur les rémunérations et sur le statut des femmes en entreprise.

Après deux ans de fort déclin, la courbe de cotation éthique calculée pour le secteur bancaire a retrouvé une pente ascendante. Toutefois, comme les autres secteurs ont presque tous enregistré une meilleure performance l’an passé, les banques ne se classent que 14ème sur 18 sur la période juillet 2009 – juin 2010. Considérant la période 2002 – 2010 (juin), le secteur bancaire se classe 10ème. En 2007, il atteignait la 2ème place. Le secteur technologique occupe actuellement la tête du classement, alors que les pétroliers sont derniers.

Le groupe de critères Impact du Produit ne représente que 16% des informations positives collectées sur les banques, contre 37% pour la moyenne des autres secteurs. Ce groupe comprend des critères comme Produit socialement innovant, Produit écologiquement innovant, Risque du produit pour l’homme ou Risque environnemental du produit. Les banques sont timides dans la démonstration de l’utilité sociale de leurs produits et dans la présentation de leurs innovations en la matière. Dans la plupart des secteurs, les produits durables sont au cœur de la communication des entreprises. Pensons ainsi aux clean tech, à la nutrition et aux labels verts et équitables dans le secteur alimentaire, ou encore aux innovations écologiques dans l’automobile.

De nombreuses activités bancaires peuvent être décrites en termes de contributions au développement durable. Mais les banques utilisent peu ces termes. Qu’est-ce qui inhibe l’innovation éthique dans ce secteur? Le faible niveau de critiques visant les produits des banques peut être considéré comme un manque d’incitations. Deuxièmement, les banquiers semblent considérer que la mise en avant de leurs produits durables se ferait au détriment de la culture d’entreprise et de l’image sérieuse, conservatrice, prudente et orientée vers l’argent qu’ils montrent à leurs clients.

Enfin, les investisseurs privés et institutionnels sont aussi responsables de la prudence des banques à l’égard des produits à valeur sociale et environnementale ajoutée. Ils sont d’abord intéressés à préserver à et accroître leur capital. Certes, la recherche montre que l’investissement éthique n’implique pas forcément un sacrifice financier; et la notation Environnement, Social, Gouvernance s’affirme comme un outil de gestion des risques. Cependant, l’héritage culturel des sociétés occidentales n’aide pas les banques à promouvoir des produits durables, il n’aide pas non plus les groupes de pression à encourager les banques sur cette voie, ni les clients à demander ces produits. Nous ne sommes pas habitués à associer argent et morale dans la même pensée.

D’autres facteurs ont pesé négativement sur la réputation éthique des banques au cours de l’année écoulée. A côté des suspects habituels (affaires fiscales), le critère Salaires a été le plus actif. Rémunérations des dirigeants, bonus des traders et différentiels entre haut et bas salaires ont été abondamment critiqués. Ce rapport relève aussi une croissance des commentaires négatifs sur le statut des femmes en entreprise (discrimination en matière de salaires et de promotion, environnement de travail démobilisant). Le thème des salaires et celui des femmes constituent une combinaison dangereuse pour la réputation éthique des banques.

Du côté des informations positives, les banques marquent le plus de points sur le sponsoring social (donations philanthropiques, investissements communautaires), et sur les initiatives liées au changement climatique. Après le boom vert de 2007, le thème du changement climatique a été très discret durant la période de crise financière de 2008 à mi 2009. Depuis, il a repris de sa visibilité et contribue à nouveau à une image responsable du secteur bancaire et de ses leaders.

Certaines banques sont moins timides que les autres dans leur offre de produits durables, ce qui leur permet de bien figurer dans le ranking éthique de Covalence. Elles communiquent par exemple sur leur implication dans la microfinance et la production d’énergie renouvelable, sur des taux d’intérêt favorisant les constructions écologiques, ou sur leur adhésion aux Principes des Nations Unies pour l’Investissement Responsable.

Le Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010 analyse et classe la réputation éthique de 29 grandes banques, de manière interne et en comparaison avec 18 secteurs comprenant 581 sociétés multinationales.

Aujourd’hui, le défi pour les banques est d’apporter une touche progressiste, si ce n’est un virage progressiste, à leur identité, culture, stratégie et image, tout en maintenant un haut degré de confiance dans l’esprit de leurs clients. Dans un environnement concurrentiel où l’on admet qu’il est très difficile de battre le marché, l’investissement éthique peut être un bon différentiateur, mais il nécessite de subtils efforts d’éducation pour démontrer aux gérants de fortune et à leurs clients qu’il est compatible avec leurs priorités financières.

Plus d’information sur le Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010:

> Report Extract

> Offer & Order Form

> Communiqué de presse (.pdf)

A propos de Covalence

Le système de cotation éthique de Covalence est un indice de réputation basé sur une quantification de données qualitatives, qui sont classées d’après 45 « Critères de contribution des entreprises au développement humain » tels que Avantages sociaux, Utilité sociale du produit, Gestion des déchets ou Politique des droits de l’homme. C’est un baromètre de la perception des multinationales dans le domaine éthique.

Ce système intègre des milliers de documents collectés parmi les médias, entreprises, ONG et autres sources, pour produire les courbes de cotation éthique (EthicalQuote). Ces courbes mesurent l’évolution historique de la réputation des entreprises sur les enjeux éthiques. Elles sont données par l’addition cumulée des informations positives (documents codés comment “offre éthique”, valeur +1, la courbe monte) et des informations négatives (“demandes éthiques”, valeur -1, la courbe descend).

Cet outil a été primé en 2004 – Prix cantonal du développement durable, Genève, et il a permis à la société Covalence de figurer parmi les finalistes du concours l’Entrepreneur Social de l’Année 2005, organisé par la Fondation Schwab, ainsi que parmi les Ethisphere 2009’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics.

Covalence pratique une veille d’information systématique sur 18 secteurs comprenant 581 entreprises classées parmi les plus grandes capitalisations boursières dans le Dow Jones World Sector Titans Index.

Covalence SA a été fondée en 2001 à Genève par six personnes issues des sciences sociales et de la finance.

Contact presse

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Recherche

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@ethicalquote.com

Contact vente

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@ethicalquote.com

Google Invests $86 Million In Low-Income Housing

info — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:20:57 +0000

Google is partnering with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC), a division of U.S. Bank; to create an $86 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) fund. According to a release issued today, the funding will be used towards the construction and operation of 480 affordable rental housing units for low income families and senior citizens in seven communities throughout the West and Midwest. It’s unusual for a technology company to get involved with these types of loans; banks and insurance companies usually help fund these credits. While the money doesn’t cover the total cost of these developments, these tax credits help them complete a project. Image: artistlink.org. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: USA | Company: Google | Source: TechCrunch

Dell Puts Less Crap In a Box

info — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:07:53 +0000

Fact: most electronics manufacturers bury their products in excessive amounts of packaging. For proof, look no further than Dell, which managed to eliminate 18.2 million pounds of packaging since 2008 and 8.7 million pounds in the last year alone. So how did they do it? Dell’s reductions are the direct result of focusing on what it calls the “three C’s” of packaging strategy–cube (meaning packaging volume), content, and curbside recyclability of materials. “Our customers spoke loudly and clearly when they said they would like smaller packaging,” says Oliver Campbell, Dell’s worldwide senior manager for packaging. “Teams within Dell understand that this is a core customer commitment, so it’s becoming much easier to implement these changes.” Improvements in packaging volume rely on creativity from packaging engineers. “Engineers are seeing themselves as environmental champions,” Campbell says. In one example, engineers figured out a way to cut packaging on the Inspiron 15 laptop so that that 63 laptops fit on each shipping pallet instead of 54. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: global | company: Dell | Source: Budez

NUM downs tools at Exxaro, plans strike at Rio Tinto unit

info — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:13:19 +0000

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – More than 600 workers have downed tools at diversified miner Exxaro’s KwaZulu-Natal Sands (KZN Sands) operation, while more than 1 700 employees at Rio Tinto’s Richards Bay Minerals operation planned to start industrial action later this week. Employees at both companies were protesting over wage increases. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said that workers at KZN Sands were seeking wage increases of 14%, while the employer was offering 8%. “We further demand that the company should ban the use of labour brokers and offer a housing allowance of R2 000 a month,” said NUM KwaZulu-Natal regional coordinator Bhekani Ngcobo, adding that the strike would be indefinite. Meanwhile, workers at the Richards Bay Minerals operation had been granted a certificate of nonresolutMion by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and the union would, on Tuesday, serve Rio Tinto with a 48-hour notice to strike. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: South Africa | company: Rio Tinto | Source: miningweekly.com

Companies return to the long-neglected social side of corporate sustainability

info — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:50:12 +0000

67% of corporate sustainability professionals who responded to an Ethical Corporation survey said their company “measures social and/or economic impact of their business on the communities where they operate”. This positive response astounded the 100 corporate sustainability professionals who turned up in London for a debate where Ethical Corporation shared its preliminary results for an upcoming report on “Social and economic impact: measurement, evaluation and reporting.” Are companies actually concerned with their impact on society? The company delivered a second anonymous survey, asking a similar question: “Has your company conducted a study of the social or economic impact of your operations on a local community?” Again, an affirming 69% of respondents answered yes. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: global | Source: Ethical Corporation

MasterCard and Hotel de la Paix Give Young Cambodian Women the Skills for a Brighter Future

info — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:59:24 +0000

MasterCard and Hotel de la Paix are teaming up again to train young rural Khmer women as seamstresses, so they can earn a living and support themselves and their families. As part of a MasterCard Purchase with Purpose™ initiative, MasterCard will donate US$50 towards the reconstruction of Hotel de la Paix’s Sewing School, for every room bill paid with a MasterCard card between 1st August and 30th November 2010. Hotel de la Paix’s Sewing School is a vocational facility funded by the hotel that offers a ten-month programme teaching Khmer women to sew, speak English and learn basic skills required to set up a business. Students are given a sewing machine and a kit of materials upon graduation to enable them to start their own businesses. The programme reaches out to young rural women from outside Siem Reap, where access to employment or training is rare. With limited work opportunities, these uneducated women often find work on construction sites, earning US$1 per day for 16 hours of hard labour. The funds collected through this Purchase with Purpose initiative will enable these women to learn a relevant trade, work in a safe environment and earn a decent wage. This will help them provide for themselves and their families, contribute to their communities and build their self-esteem. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: Cambodia | Company: Mastercard | Source: Mastercard

Nokia Siemens Networks Sued for Selling Spy Kit to Iran

info — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:20:41 +0000

Nokia Siemens Networks is facing a lawsuit over allegations that it sold equipment to Iran that was subsequently used by the government to monitor opposition activists. Iranian journalist and activist, Isa Saharkhiz and his son, Mehdi Saharkhiz have filled the lawsuit in a U.S. Federal Court against Nokia Siemens Networks and its parent companies Siemens and Nokia alleging human rights violations committed by the Iranian government through the aid of spying centers which were provided by Nokia Siemens Networks. Isa Saharkhiz was arrested last June, which the lawyers claim was the result of the surveillance and monitoring of his mobile phone communications in the aftermath of disputed 2009 presidential election in Iran. Image: maximumpc.com. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: global | company: Nokia, Siemens | Source: cellular-news

Appel à clarifier les prélèvements d’organes sur des prisonniers en Chine

info — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:01:59 +0000

Amnesty International Suisse veut un code de conduite pour les entreprises actives dans la transplantation d’organes en Chine, un pays qui utilise des condamnés à mort. Novartis répond favorablement. Roche se tait. Ils seront plus de 4000 experts à participer dès dimanche à Vancouver au 23e congrès international de la Société de transplantation: médecins, chirurgiens, chercheurs et représentants de l’industrie pharmaceutique. Il sera question de cœurs, de reins, de foies et de dons d’organes. Ce n’est pas prévu au programme, mais ces spécialistes du monde entier seront aussi interpellés sur le cas particulier de la Chine, un pays qui pratique dix mille transplantations d’organes par an et qui reconnaît qu’une majorité de ceux-ci proviennent de condamnés à mort. A la veille de cette réunion, la section suisse d’Amnesty International (AI) lance un appel aux entreprises du secteur afin qu’elles se dotent «d’un code de conduite commun, soumis à des expertises indépendantes, pour éviter de se rendre complice d’abus» des droits de l’homme. «C’est une occasion inespérée, ils seront tous ensemble», explique Danièle Gosteli Hauser, la responsable économie et droits humains à la section suisse d’AI. L’appel vise en réalité prioritairement deux sociétés: Roche et Novartis, leaders mondiaux dans le développement de médicaments contre le rejet d’organes transplantés et pionniers sur le marché chinois. «Nous espérons que ces deux entreprises prendront contact avec les autres groupes pharmaceutiques pour se doter d’un code de conduite, explique Danièle Gosteli Hauser. Ce serait un message très fort en direction du gouvernement chinois pour qu’il renforce l’application de sa législation sur les transplantations et le trafic d’organes.» More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: China, Switzerland | Company: Novartis, Roche | Source: Le Temps

Oil-soaked waste worries landfills’ neighbors

info — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:15:07 +0000

At a sprawling landfill some 50 miles from the oil-spotted coastline, trash bags brimming with tar balls, oil-soaked boom, sand and tangles of sea grass are dumped. Though workers in the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history wear protective gloves and coveralls as they labor across the Gulf Coast clearing beaches of oil, the mounds of debris they amass meet a pedestrian fate: burial in the same landfills that take in diapers, coffee grounds, burnt toast, yogurt containers, grass clippings and demolition debris. Since the first trucks began rolling in June, nearly 40,000 tons of “oily solids” and related debris have been sent to municipal landfills from Louisiana to Florida, sparking complaints — and in one case, enough consternation that BP decided to stop dumping in a landfill. “They tell us, ‘It’s not bad, it’s not hazardous,’” said Christopher Malloy, who borrowed a sign from his wife’s tanning salon to announce his opposition to using the Pecan Grove landfill in Mississippi’s Harrison County. “Oil in Gulf — Bad. Oil in landfill/wellwater not bad? What!” reads the sign in his front yard, less than half a mile from the landfill where 1,300 tons had been disposed before BP — facing community pressure — agreed to curtail dumping. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: USA | Company: BP | Source: Sun Herald