The Sustainability Shift, and how to make it happen
On Wednesday November 30th, ABN AMRO Private Banking Belgium organises a session during the first ever Belgian Impact Day. The theme? How to support the Sustainability Shift. And why it is so important to do so. In the run-up to this event, we had a chat with Dominic Pharaoh, Commercial Development Officer and Impact Programme Manager at ABN AMRO Private Banking Belgium, and asked him about the efforts of the bank when it comes to creating impact.
Hi Dominic, could you give us some more insight on what will be shared by ABN AMRO during the Belgium Impact Day?
At ABN AMRO Private Banking Belgium it is our ambition to become the front runner on sustainable finance. To really make a difference, we have to be present at the table and make a contribution. The fact that we are the flagship sponsor of the Impact Week and that we take part in the Belgium Impact Day, shows just how highly we value this initiative. The main topic that will be discussed during our session is how we support corporations – big and small - to make the shift towards sustainability. We will be joined at the table by Eglantine Eeckhout from Belgian sustainability community The Shift, by Kenneth Van den Bergh, CEO & Co-founder of Carbon+Alt+Delete and Floor Van der Heijden, Sustainability expert at ABN AMRO. I’m really looking forward to this discussion because we can learn so much from each other’s experiences!
What is ABN AMRO Private Banking already doing when it comes to this Sustainability Shift?
First of all, we are reducing our own footprint as much as possible. We hired external consultants for this on a group level and are making sure that we are doing all we can within the entirety of the ABN AMRO network. Mainly on IT and logistics there are many improvements made over the years. But we continue to make changes in this regard on a daily basis. Besides that we are also a very inclusive company – with a thought-out HR policy that focuses on the wellbeing of our colleagues. Oftentimes the social aspect of sustainability tends to be overlooked, but it is also an extremely important element.
But we also support other corporations in becoming more sustainable, right?
Yes, very much so! Looking outside of the company, we support the Impact Programme : an accelerator programme created by Ashoka Belgium and Accenture. This programme is created to support young impactful companies to succeed. Carbon+Alt+Delete is one of these companies who took part in the programme and who is now taking over the world! It’s amazing to see how we can actually make a difference for these companies.
What kind of support is offered in the programme?
There are multiple ways that these young companies are being helped to mature. We notice that many social entrepreneurs are so overwhelmed by their mission that they often lose track of important practicalities. Therefore, the participants get dedicated coaches and will be trained by experts during a broad set of workshops. We invite the experts to provide them with important insights, to ask them the right questions and to have a critical mindset. At the end of the programme – which lasts for 5 to 6 months on average – there’s an award ceremony. During this ceremony ABN AMRO provides the so called ‘ready to invest award’. The winner of this prize will receive our help to raise finance and to find the right investors within our network. This is of course very valuable help for the companies. Without cash, there’s simply no way to start a business.
What about large corporations who need to transition towards becoming more sustainable?
For the large corporations we have created the Sustainable Risk and Advisory department. This department focuses on how we can link attractive financing to sustainable financing. E.g. when we are approached by a shipping company we can decide that we only want to give them a loan if they make their fleet more sustainable. Or we offer them more favourable rates if they do so. There truly is a very wide range to help these companies make the sustainability shift. One valuable tool in this range of options is for corporates to issue a Green Bond to raise capital for financing their sustainable shift. ABN AMRO has a long track record and expertise in supporting corporates in such financing projects. I think we already have a lot to be proud of!
How do you personally feel about being part of the Impact Week and the Belgian Impact Day?
Sustainable Investment is a subject that is obviously very dear to me. As the Programme Manager of the Impact Programme, this might not come as a surprise. So for me, personally, I’m hoping to meet a lot of interesting people during the Impact Week to share ideas with. I’m very much aware of the fact that we still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to this subject. We are definitely not there yet! But I’m convinced that we can learn a lot from each other: which challenges are social entrepreneurs facing today? How can we help them even more? What are our peers doing? All very interesting topics that I’m looking forward to discuss!
The Belgian Impact Day will take place at Wednesday November 30th at Maison de la Poste & Gare Maritime, Tour&Taxis Brussels.
Tickets and info: https://impactfinance.be