Bank of the Year

Description

This award is for banks which are trailblazers in embedding social and environmental impacts into their lending decisions.

Judges do not expect perfection in all aspects of a bank’s activities: they know that embedding sustainability into all financing decisions is a challenging process! But they will be looking for examples of outstanding performance as a leader in ESG / impact, and of clear integration of ESG / impact goals with the bank’s core business.

They will expect to see measurable outcomes and impacts, as well as clear commitments to future progress. Specifically, they will be looking for real leadership in the selection and engagement of borrowers, and in monitoring and reporting, as reflected in the criteria below.

We request a total word count of 2000 words +/-10% (excl. supporting docs). Any confidential data will be treated as such and only shared with the judging panel, all of whom will have signed NDAs.

Criteria

Judges will be looking for evidence of progress on the following points (weighting percentages in brackets):

Selection and engagement (40%): How the bank makes lending decisions (as well as decisions on the terms of its lending) that take into account the performance of the borrower on environmental and social issues such as:

  • carbon emissions reductions (Scope 1, 2 & 3)

  • commitments to science-based targets in line with net zero goals and the energy transition

  • zero-waste and zero-pollution progress and commitments

  • avoidance of deforestation and promotion of biodiversity restoration

  • diversity and inclusion

  • enabling and supporting vulnerable or previously unbanked customers

  • labour and human rights in the workplace and supply chain

  • impact on local communities

  • high standards of corporate governance.

Monitoring and reporting (40%): How the bank monitors and reports on the performance of its portfolio in these areas, including progress towards any relevant targets. 

Integration (20%): How the bank has demonstrably integrated all its work on promoting high ESG / impact standards with its overall approach to banking. To what extent is it demonstrating a commitment to improved social and environmental outcomes through all aspects of its banking operations?

PLEASE NOTE: The criteria above are different to the questions in the application form. You will need to follow the application questions; cross-referencing these with the criteria to ensure you’ve captured them within your application. The criteria are followed by the judges in order to compare all entries in each category like-for-like. Please ensure you register / log in to AwardStage (opens 3 March), select the category and export a PDF copy of the questions. Some category application questions differ. The application questions will be available at least four weeks before entries open, so if you wish to get them ahead of time please email us.