ING's Stance On Sustainability

March 13, 2023

ING's Stance On Sustainability

Animal welfare

ING advises animal husbandry clients to follow the "Five Freedoms" and improve transport and management. ING's animal welfare policy prohibits financing anything that requires animals to fight for entertainment, endangered species trading, etc.

In February 2016, ING received PETA's Compassionate Business Award for the company's commitment to not funding the exploitation of animals for their “tests on animals for cosmetics, the use of endangered species for commercial purposes, experiments on nonhuman primates or endangered species, bullfights or any type of animal fights for entertainment, fur farms, or the trade and manufacture of fur products, among other practices.”

Biodiversity

ING, as a financial institution, both affects biodiversity and faces dangers associated with its loss. In terms of impact, this mostly is put together through loans to businesses. Changing the stability of a natural environment is one way in which business activities can have a negative impact on biodiversity. Particularly intriguing is the issue of deforestation. Preventing deforestation is crucial to preserving biodiversity and can offer significant benefits to environmental mitigation. Because of the potential negative effects on protected areas such as UNESCO sites, Ramsar wetland sites, and IUCN areas, ING doesn't provide any financing for initiatives which would have an impact on any of these areas. As part of the credit approval process, transactions will be restricted because of this clause.

Environmental and Social Risk is ING's policy for clients in the agricultural commodities industry. ING's due diligence on clients in this industry includes checking them against these criteria. Some of these norms involve checking with customers to ensure they're on board with specific programmes and/or certifications. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the kind of programmes and credentials that ING believe are applicable to the agricultural commodities industry:

Climate

ING used only renewable electricity in 2020, the first year they were allowed to do so, and they have continued to experience decreases in operational emissions since then. ING's most significant contribution to climate change is through funding, in the form of loans to businesses and individuals. As a result, ING is guiding the most carbon-intensive elements of the loan portfolio toward a net-zero footprint by 2050.

According to a statement released in March 2022, ING boosted the annual amount they lend to renewables by 50% in 2025. That is, from here until 2025, ING plans to raise its renewable energy loans by 10% annually. They have also announced that they will no longer support new oil and gas fields with funding. This is consistent with the International Energy Agency's plan to achieve emission neutrality by the year 2050.

ING made the decision to stop funding new coal-fired power facilities even before the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (excluding a standing commitment to the project Cirebon II in Indonesia). Since then, ING has passed on several deals and initiatives involving coal.

In December 2017, ING made the decision to accelerate its withdrawal from coal power generating finance, committing to bring its exposure to coal to near zero by 2025. By the end of the year 2021, loans to individual coal-fired power plants had fallen by over 80% to €87 million due to these measures.

ING has decided that it would no longer provide funding to energy companies that rely on coal for more than 5% of their operations after 2025. However, ING will keep funding non-coal energy projects for these customers to help them transition away from coal.

Defence

ING does not provide funds for the creation of cluster bombs or their subsequent sale, purchase, or other commercial use. ING does not conduct business with manufacturers of cluster munitions in any capacity.

ING does not support the manufacture, stockpiling, or distribution of nuclear weapons in any way. Some businesses have a secondary but nonetheless significant role in the atomic weapons industry. When this is the case, ING will not back the nuclear weapons work of those businesses.

In order to protect countries with a low tolerance for corruption from the funding of arms deals, when considering expanding into new areas of finance, ING employs stringent due diligence procedures. ING maintains a comprehensive risk list of countries and territories, classifying them as low, medium, high, or ultra-high risk. Around 250 nations and territories are included on this list, which is utilized by ING in both the initial "know your client" process and subsequent checks.

Human rights

Unsafe working conditions, exploitation of migrant workers, and damage to communities are just a few examples of how corporations can violate human rights. However, corporations can contribute to human rights advancement by providing opportunities for decent labour, raising living standards, safeguarding children's rights, and engaging in ethical product procurement.

Source – ING

Since 2018 ING has been publishing an article on Human Rights every year, if you are interested to read more about ING and Human Rights then please click on the below link.

https://www.ing.com/Sustainability/Sustainable-business/Human-rights.htm

Income Tax

ING follows local taxation standards wherever it operates. The global effective tax rate for ING over the past three years has averaged 29.1 per cent.

Goals of ING's Tax Division

· To give ING's businesses and leadership first-rate tax support.
· To protect ING's tax standing in accordance with current legislation
· In coordination with ING's Finance team, verify that the company's tax position is fairly reflected in financial statements

Below are ING’s income tax figures for the years 2017 to 2022

Source - Macrotrends

Plastic

ING is committed to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's goal for a New Plastics Economy (NPEC). Industry and government have joined forces to reduce plastic waste and pollution by raising the average recycled content of plastic packaging from its current 2% to 25% by 2025. A vision of a circular economy in which plastics are never discarded is central to the Global Commitment.

S&P Global Ratings, a credit rating organization, gave ING a 'strong' rating in June 2022 for its ESG (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives.

References

Income Taxes, Available at

https://www.ing.com/Sustainability/Our-Stance/Income-taxes.htm (accessed on 8/3/2023)

Animal Welfare, Available at

https://www.ing.com/Sustainability/Our-Stance/Animal-welfare.htm(accessed on 8/3/2023)

Biodiversity, Available at

https://www.ing.com/Sustainability/Our-Stance/Biodiversity.htm (accessed on 8/3/2023)

Climate, Available at

https://www.ing.com/Sustainability/Our-Stance/Climate.htm (accessed on 8/3/2023)

Defence, Available at

https://www.ing.com/Sustainability/Our-Stance/Defence.htm(accessed on 8/3/2023)

Deforestation, Available at