GRI Standards Index

Arion Bank’s 2023 Annual and Sustainability Report has been prepared in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative, GRI Standards and the Nasdaq ESG Reporting Guide. We also take into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact. Arion Bank is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking (UN PRB) and has been working on implementing the goals since signing in September 2019. Information on the progress made can be seen here.

GRI Index 2023

The information presented in the GRI Standards Index is valid for 2023 and applies to the main operations of Arion Bank. The focus is on meeting disclosure requirements on the Bank’s operations, social impact, human resources, environmental impact, corporate governance and economic factors.

KPMG ehf. was engaged to assist with the preparation of the environmental accounts of Arion Bank for 2023. The Bank is responsible for overall disclosure and therefore ensuring that the data on which the analysis is based is correct. KPMG examined the data, calculated the environmental impact in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and assisted with the configuration of the accounts in accordance with the Nasdaq ESG Reporting Guide and looked at links to the forthcoming ESRS.

Deloitte has provided an opinion with limited assurance on sustainability reporting by Arion Bank in 2023 which is presented in accordance with GRI Standards and the Nasdaq ESG Reporting Guide.

Data on human resources is obtained from the Bank's human resources system. Financial information has been audited and affirmed by Deloitte.

We listen to our stakeholders and take their views into account when selecting material for this report.

GRI Index 

GRI 3-1, GRI 3-2 og GRI 3-3

Process for selecting and managing material topics

GRI 3 2021 has yet to be fully implemented but Arion Bank’s reporting takes into account GRI 1 2021, GRI 2 2021 and GRI 3 2021. Reporting was previously based on GRI Core but now follows GRI Standards.

The selection of material topics for the 2023 Annual and Sustainability Report is based on work and reporting carried out in previous years, including a materiality assessment carried out in 2021, and analyses of the Bank carried out by domestic and international bodies in connection with the Bank’s ESG performance. As in previous years reporting utilized most of the contents of the Nasdaq ESG Reporting Guide.

In 2023 Arion Bank took its first steps towards implementing the European Sustainability Reporting Standard (ESRS). The standard forms part of the requirements for the forthcoming transposing of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into Icelandic law. For the first time a double materiality assessment has been published in respect of the standard. The results of the assessment were obtained through discussions with stakeholders, surveys of employees and workshops in cooperation with KPMG. The ESRS is partly referred to in the Bank’s environmental accounts, but the implementation of the standard is far from complete, and the results will be increasingly used in the Bank’s reporting in the future.

Direct and indirect impact of operations

Although the direct impact of banking on the environment is not significant compared with other sectors, we nevertheless believe it important to disclose information on this factor. Arion Bank wants to set an example in environmental and climate issues. It has set itself the goal of reducing emissions from its own activities by 80% by 2030, and it has been a signatory to City of Reykjavík and Festa’s Declaration on Climate Change since 2015 and has pledged to publish the results. When selecting material topics in connection with GRI Standards we choose those factors relating to emissions of greenhouse gases from the Bank’s activities which we consider appropriate for publication.

We are aware that the Bank’s impact on environmental and climate issues is mainly indirect and primarily comes from the services we provide to our customers, not least via lending and investment. We are committed to helping our customers and society reduce greenhouse gas emissions, guided by the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the beginning of 2023 we published our second Impact and Allocation Report which covers the allocation of funds which were raised through green bond issues and green deposits. Deloitte has audited with limited assurance the use of funds which have been raised through green bond issues and green deposits.

Arion Bank is a signatory to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). This is a global partnership of financial institutions that work together to develop and implement a harmonized approach to assess and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their loans and investments. At the end of 2022 the Bank published its first report on financed emissions which is based on PCAF methodology. Assessing and disclosing the greenhouse gas emissions which are financed through lending and investments is a prerequisite for the Bank’s ability to set targets on reducing emissions. Arion Bank’s first targets of this type were set in 2023 and published in the Bank’s latest financed emissions report.

Responsible buying and interaction with suppliers with respect to their performance on environmental and climate issues is important to us, and in 2020 we introduced a new ESG supplier assessment. A code of ethics for suppliers was introduced in 2021.

Human resources, equal opportunities, human rights, learning and development, the health and safety of employees are also critical to the Bank’s operations, and this is reflected in the Bank’s policies such as the human resources policy, learning and development policy, equality and human rights policy, and health and safety policy.

Arion Bank has selected six UN Sustainable Development Goals which the Bank which it intends to focus on. These goals are number 5 on gender equality; number 7 on affordable and clean energy; number 8 on decent work and economic growth; number 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure; number 12 on responsible consumption and production; and number 13 on climate action. These six Sustainable Development Goals are also used as a guide when selecting material topics and their boundaries.

All material topics and their boundaries concern Arion Bank. The Bank’s subsidiaries are not included in this report unless specifically stated.

The following material topics were considered appropriate in an analysis carried out in 2022 and still apply:

• GRI 201 Economic performance 2016
• GRI 203 Indirect economic impacts 2016
• GRI 204 Procurement practices 2016
• GRI 205 Anti-corruption 2016
• GRI 206 Anti-competitive behaviour 2016
• GRI 302 Energy 2016
• GRI 303 Water and effluents 2018
• GRI 304 Biodiversity 2016
• GRI 305 Emissions 2016
• GRI 306 Waste 2020
• GRI 308 Supplier environmental assessment 2016
• GRI 401 Employment 2016
• GRI 402 Labor/management relations 2016
• GRI 403 Occupational health and safety 2018
• GRI 404 Training and education 2016
• GRI 405 Diversity and equal opportunity 2016
• GRI 406 Non-discrimination 2016
• GRI 413 Local communities 2016
• GRI 414 Supplier social assessment 2016
• GRI 415 Public policy 2016
• GRI 417 Marketing and labeling 2016
• GRI 418 Customer privacy 2016

Managing material topics

The management of individual material topics in Arion Bank’s 2023 Annual and Sustainability Report according to GRI Standards undergoes the same process as other projects at Arion Bank, via the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, the appropriate divisions and control units.

Since 2021 there has been a sustainability committee and the management of sustainability risk in connection with ESG factors was defined as part of the Bank’s risk management system. See here for further information.

Various strategies, policies and rules which address the topic of the report have been approved by the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Bank, including:

Arion Bank is also a signatory to various domestic and international treaties and commitments on responsible banking and is working to meet these obligations. See here.

Please refer to the GRI Index for more information on our measures concerning individual material topics.