Agricultural Bank of China

In terms of senior leadership accountability, Agricultural Bank of China assigns responsibility for sustainability to the board of directors. Furthermore, the financial institution identified and prioritised its impacts through a materiality assessment process which included feedback from external stakeholders.

Agricultural Bank of China discloses the aggregate amount of finance it devotes to climate solutions (RMB 1.51 trillion by the end of 2020) while specifying what these solutions are.

Agricultural Bank of China discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group and gender. The financial institution also discloses the amount of finance it directs towards micro and small enterprises.

In terms of its approach to senior leadership accountability, there is no evidence that Agricultural Bank of China links the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. No evidence was found that the financial institution is committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment. It also has an opportunity to disclose the proportion of women in senior leadership roles as well as how it addresses any gender pay gaps. Although the financial institution discloses a social and environmental risk management framework, there is no evidence it has an engagement policy which includes sustainability themes or impact topics.

Agricultural Bank of China discloses a carbon neutrality target but does not disclose a target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050. The financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Regarding nature and biodiversity, no evidence was found that the financial institution is committed to minimising its negative impacts or financing regenerative solutions.

There is no evidence that Agricultural Bank of China has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights laid out in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the ILO declaration on fundamental rights at work. The financial institution has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. It also has an opportunity to establish a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. Additionally, there is no evidence that the financial institution discloses the amount of finance directed towards women-owned businesses or to another usually excluded groups and low-income developing countries.