Social impact: positive change for the vulnerable

A recent ABN AMRO internal webinar on social impact drew as many as 700 participants. It’s clear that social impact is alive and kicking. That’s no surprise, says Gitte Wouters, social impact lead at ABN AMRO: “Social impact is about people, which means it’s a topic we can all relate to.”

Respecting human rights

Social impact ranges from financial vulnerability and young people with debt problems to the exploitation of migrant workers. The bank’s initiatives targeting these areas are the main focus of the new Social Impact & Human Rights Update, entitled “Accelerating social sustainability”.

“Social impact is the third focus area in ABN AMRO’s overall sustainable strategy. This strategic theme involves the impact ABN AMRO has on individuals in society,” explains Business & Human Rights Advisor Yuri Herder. “Here we make an important distinction between ‘doing no harm’ and ‘doing good’. ‘Doing no harm’ is simply about our duty to respect human rights – by talking to our clients about how they prevent negative impact, for example. ‘Doing good’, on the other hand, is about the positive impact we can make on people’s well-being. We wanted the update to present our activities in both these areas in an honest and transparent way, as well as highlight where we can still improve.”

The update is in line with a growing trend in non-financial reporting. Indeed, ABN AMRO has been publishing different types of reports on subjects including human rights and value creation since 2016 – alongside its annual report.

Vulnerable

“The pandemic threw into sharp relief just how vulnerable people can be,” says Yuri, “and that’s actually one of the reasons there’s been more of a focus on social impact lately. The crisis made it clear that virtually anyone can find themselves in financial difficulties overnight. And think of, say, garment factory workers in faraway countries and what it means for them when orders are discontinued: no work means no pay, and no pay means no food.”

Reporting on social impact brings challenges, though. Whereas impact on the climate is more easily expressed in measurable terms – in emissions per flight hour or the amount of energy consumed – it’s harder to quantify the impact of social initiatives. Gitte says, “Social impact is intrinsically less clear-cut, and that means the bank has more explaining to do. What exactly do we mean by the term ‘social impact’ anyway, and what are our engagements and commitments? It’s such a broad topic. Social impact involves people in all sorts of areas.”

Interviews

The update explores the theme through a series of interviews. Bank employees discuss the initiatives they’re involved in to facilitate discussions about debt problems among young people and how the bank can ensure that everyone in society can access the financial system.

The update also zooms in on the stakeholders the bank is working with. “After all,” says Gitte, “you can’t make an impact on your own. Solutions that ABN AMRO can focus on developing need to be coordinated with our stakeholders so that they’re properly implemented.”

A step forward

Gitte and Yuri see the Social Impact & Human Rights Update on 2021 as an important step forward. Yuri says, “I’m proud of the success stories we tell in the update, the positive impact we can have on people’s lives, and how we’re helping our clients explore solutions to prevent negative impact in their operations and chains. An example is our approach to help stop the sexual exploitation of prostitutes, efforts we’re collaborating with the hotel industry on, and which Joost Leupen (a relationship manager at the bank) discusses in the publication. Now it’s up to us, with this update in hand, to continue the conversation with our clients and stakeholders in order to work together to make further improvements.”

“It’s vital that we continue to identify where it is that people are vulnerable and ways to change that. And it has to be a bank-wide effort,” Gitte adds. “We’re giving it our all – that goes for the business and retail departments straight through to the bank’s procurement division. I hope we’ll continue to raise awareness with this update. As it so clearly shows, there are many social challenges, and anyone can become vulnerable. It’s so rewarding to see that we as a bank, together with our stakeholders, can make a difference.”