CSR Audit: ING in Society

11:18 PM

One of our activities in the class is to create a paper on how our company operates in terms of CSR, and create our proposal to implement CSR initiative as well. Honestly, I am not really aware what the company did or currently doing in terms of CSR. All I know is that we have different charity programs across all of our branches globally. However, when I started researching and reading about our company, ING Bank, I discovered a lot of things. In fact, when I first visit the ING web page, I thought I was being redirected to a non profit org like Unicef, but not, it's all ING's initiative. ING is not just the usual financial companies that just operate for the sake of profit; it operates within the goal of achieving sustainability.

Image taken from: https://www.ing.com/ING-in-Society/Sustainability.htm

Just to give you a short background, ING (International Netherlands Group) is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services. Our company offers retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries. We have a broad customer base, comprising individuals, families, small businesses, large corporations, institutions and governments.

In the Philippines, we are part of ING Business Shared Services (IBSS), which is a young, dynamic and innovative organization that works with ING’s global businesses to optimize the delivery of banking services. We provide support and service to the different global branches of ING. We are committed to ensure accurate and efficient delivery of ING’s financial products across all of its clients globally.

As a financial institution, ING’s role is to support and encourage economic, social and environmental progress, leading to a better quality of life. In terms of economic progress, our financial market products play a vital role in this. Government or corporation requires funds to finance its operations and long-term investments. To do this, these institutions will raise money through buying and selling in the financial markets. And that’s where ING takes place. We provide banking/funds for different needs of the growing society.

ING is also a signatory to the UN Global Compact in 2006. We were committed to contribute in achieving the former Millennium Development Goals and current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We indirectly contribute to many SDGs through the clients and specific projects we finance (such as providing funds for government projects) and the financial services we offer.

Our primary focus is on the goals on promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth (goal 8) and sustainable consumption and production (goal 12). It’s because as a bank, we are committed to empower our customers and accelerate sustainability within our company as well as with our customers and in society.

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Now, when I was browsing through our corporate website, I discovered a lot of stories and news on how ING participated on minimizing environmental footprint and how it helped for the projects that promoted the betterment of society. One of my favorite stories is about the Dakota Access pipeline loan. Dakota pipeline is actually an ongoing issue as many protesters think it could harm sacred burial sites and contaminate drinking water in the area where Native American tribes, Standing Rock, lives. (For full story, you may visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/39420698).

Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/39420698

ING, which is one of the lenders, has withdrawn its participation in providing loans for this government’s approved construction of Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access Pipeline in the northern United States. This pipeline project will run from the Bakken oil fields in western North Dakota to southern Illinois, crossing beneath the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and will badly affect the Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation where the Standing Rock Sioux tribal is established. The Standing Rock tribe argues that the pipeline will constitute a threat to the region's clean water and to ancient burial grounds.

Given that the tribes are raising their concerns, and many people will be badly affected by the said project, our company ING declines to participate in the project, despite the huge amount of profits it may get from financing the project. ING is actually the first from a group of 17 banks to dissociate from financing the project.

“We are heartened that ING has made the conscience decision to remove itself from a project that tramples on the rights of sovereign nations,” the Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman, Dave Archambault, said in an article in The Guardian Newspaper.

There are a lot of stories that will show how social responsible ING is. It includes different renewable energy projects, supporting poor economies, animal rights, and many internal company initiatives on how it minimizes the company’s environmental footprint. You may visit https://www.ing.com/ING-in-Society/Sustainability.htm to discover more about these stories.

Here in the Philippines, ING is also doing a lot of CSR programs. My favorite is the Orange Bike Project:

Image taken from: http://www.worldvision.org.ph/press-center/aeta-children-receive-orange-bikes

In cooperation with World Vision Philippines and World Bicycle Relief, ING launched the Orange Bike Project. The goal of the project is to provide bicycles to the children who live far from the school. As we all know, in some provinces, children find it hard to go to school because of the distance and the lack of mode to transportation. With the bikes donated by ING, the children can get to their school faster and safer, thus improving their school attendance and academic performance.

Last October 2013, the first ING Orange Bike project was launched in the towns of San Isidro and Cordon in Isabela province, where children had to walk at least five kilometers to go to school. Then last 2014, with the help of World Vision Philippines, ING Bank distributed 590 bikes to four high schools in Zambales in the municipalities of Cabangan, and Botolan, the province’s largest town. Recognizing the significance of the project, Department of Education (DepED) secretary, Br. Armin A. Luistro said, “This will not only help them get to school but also provides a way to teach road safety and environmentalism.” (Subic Bay News, 2014)

For me,this project is really a big help for those children who are far from the school. It gives them an easier way of going to school. Aside from that, bikes are environment friendly, so in that way, environmentalism is also promoted.

While doing this project, I can say that our company is doing great in terms of CSR. As one of the financial giants globally, we understand our value and impact to the society. We operate not only for the sake of gaining profits, but also for our mission to contribute to the success of the global society. We strongly believe in sustainable development, and that preserving the environment and supporting the betterment of the society will lead us to a further success. As learned in the class, CSR should be part of how the company operates, and that’s how ING do business. In our daily operation, we are always mindful of our social responsibility, and that could be the reason why we are recognized globally. Our efforts in making the society better have paid us well in terms of public trust and good company reputation.