Danske Bank

Danske Bank identified and prioritised its impacts through a materiality assessment process which included feedback from external stakeholders. In terms of female representation in leadership positions, the financial institution has a gender-balanced board of directors where 6 out of 11 members are women.

As a member of several Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) initiatives, Danske Bank has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. It discloses absolute financed emissions for on-balance credit exposure to the utilities, commercial real estate and shipping sectors, including the underlying data quality. It also discloses the key companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the topic of alignment with the Paris Agreement. As a member of Climate Action 100+, the financial institution discloses that it collectively engages with its clients on the topic of climate change. Danske Bank discloses that its subsidiary, Danica Pension invested DKK 33.5 billion in the green transition against its 2023 target of DKK 50 billion and has a target to invest DKK 100 billion by 2030.

Danske Bank has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights and the ILO core labour rights. It has a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. Furthermore, it discloses the proportion of women in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. Danske Bank has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption and discloses a global tax strategy.

In terms of senior leadership accountability, Danske Bank could assign the responsibility for sustainability issues to the highest governing body. Further, while the financial institution links the remuneration of its executive team to social-related performance criteria, it could extend the remuneration to climate-related performance criteria. In terms of gender equality, the bank also has an opportunity to reach at least 40% female representation in senior leadership positions. The financial institution discloses the total ratio of basic salary to men and women but it could provide a breakdown per employee category. Danske Bank has an opportunity to describe its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with clients and investees, across its financing activities.

While Danske Bank has interim intensity emission reduction targets for its lending activities in the shipping and the utilities sector, it has an opportunity to disclose an interim absolute emission reduction target which covers all its financing activities. Additionally, while Danske Bank encourages its clients to set a 1.5°C-aligned strategy, it has an opportunity to make this a requirement. The financial institution could also disclose what its investments in green transition involve and align these with internationally recognised frameworks. Danske Bank has an opportunity to define its approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain and across its financing activities. Regarding nature and biodiversity, the financial institution could commit to minimising its negative impacts or financing regenerative solutions.

Danske Bank has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. Additionally, while the financial institution discloses the ages of its executive leadership team and board of directors, it has an opportunity to disclose this information for each employee category. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, Danske Bank has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or low-income developing countries.