Operational environmental management

Commerzbank is committed to its corporate responsibility and has firmly anchored sustainability in its corporate strategy. Our current strategy “Moving Forward” is based on three pillars: growth, excellence, and responsibility. Responsibility represents the entire sustainability spectrum of "Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)”.

We take into account all relevant aspects in our actions and along our value chain and align our environmental and energy management with international standards. To this end, our top management provides all the information and resources necessary to achieve our goals. In addition to the Board of Management and senior executives, all employees are responsible for compliance with applicable environmental and energy-related regulations. We also regularly inform our stakeholders about our environmental and energy performance.

We are committed to making a positive contribution to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement through our business activities. This applies in particular to our lending activities and the investment portfolio of our customers, whom we want to accompany on the path to sustainable transformation. We underline this goal with our commitment to Net Zero CO₂e emissions from financing in the overall portfolio by 2050.

In order to reduce energy consumption, we raise awareness among our employees, suppliers and service providers. We use forward-looking technologies and renewable energies in the interest of future generations. We were one of the first institutions to join the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and aim to reduce the CO₂e emissions caused by our own banking operations to net zero by 2040. To achieve this goal, we will invest in our own electricity generation and rely on renewable heating energy. We continuously review our real estate portfolio and optimise the energy efficiency of our owner-occupied and rental properties and their facilities, if necessary, with the cooperation of our landlords.

With our certified management systems, we ensure that potential environmental risks are identified and prevented. The measures from the environmental and energy program protect the environment and make an important contribution to conserving resources. We continuously minimise our greenhouse gas emissions and act responsibly in harmony with people and nature.

We are committed to taking measures to promote biodiversity wherever possible. Our responsibility to promote biodiversity applies to both our products and our sites.

We are committed to purchasing recyclable and energy-efficient products and services wherever possible so that we can significantly reduce our overall waste volume and energy consumption. We regularly analyse our purchased products with regard to the packaging materials used, implement reusable systems with the vision of a continuous and consistent circular economy ("cradle to cradle"). Our "Standard for Sustainable Procurement" bindingly regulates the consideration of sustainability aspects in the purchase of goods and services and reflects our claim to corporate responsibility.

We have set ourselves the goal of achieving a climate-neutral supplier portfolio by 2040. This means that our purchasing decisions also actively influence the sustainable orientation of suppliers and service providers. Environmental and sustainability criteria are included in tenders. We also expect our suppliers and service providers to support us in achieving our climate targets.

We create incentives for our employees to increase their use of local and long-distance public transport. To further reduce commuter emissions, we enable mobile working. Our vehicle fleet is being equipped with environmentally friendly vehicles and we are gradually expanding the charging infrastructure for electric cars at our sites. The use of digital technologies will gradually replace business trips. Restrictions on air travel are reducing our CO2 consumption.

Through our certified environmental and energy management system in accordance with ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, we are committed to continuously improving our environmental performance as well as our energy efficiency. The effectiveness of our management systems is regularly reported to the Executive Board.