Rabobank in business

29-1-2008 | Other news

In 2008, Rabobank wants to focus on team spirit and sustainability. As Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Bart Jan Krouwel is leading the Rabobank team in informing, educating and promoting sustainable activities. In this column, Krouwel defines ‘sustainability’ for the rest of us, its importance for the Rabobank family and why sustainability is just good business.

For some companies, being sustainable has become a marketing hype. It is not ethical to pretend to be socially responsible to increase only profits. 

Companies are also getting lost in the meaning and confusing ‘sustainability’ with ‘continuity’.  Maintaining a business relationship for 20 years is continuity, not sustainability. 

Sustainability is the way you do your business, not the timetable. Giving donations and paying for CSR is not Corporate Social Responsibility. If you are involved in a concrete way to change behavior, then this is CSR.

Rabobank has decided to be more transparent and involved in promoting sustainability and CSR. For example, we are running our Netherlands buildings on 98% green energy, from wind and solar power, with a goal of getting to 100% this year. 

We were the first big company here in the Netherlands to change to environmentally friendly cars, that was back in March of 2005. All cars have a pollution output rating of A-H. Rabobank only uses cars with A, B, or C emission ratings. Because of costs, it was easy to convince most board members we should do it and because of sustainability, we had to do it. 

Before I retire in 2009, I’d like to implement a few new products and services that I have been working on for a while. We need to make corporate social responsibility a serious daily issue and a part of our lives, at home and here at the bank: 

• I’d like to encourage people to be more sustainable. 
• I’d like to see the government offers a reward system for citizens who are being sustainable.
• I’d like to destroy the myth that being green costs more.   

If done right, CSR it good publicity, good for the organisation and good for the business. Rabobank has been too modest about its CSR programs and what we are doing. The executive board would say, ‘When we do something good, we don’t always have to shout it from the rooftops’.  

We have taken the approach that it is better to do something, than to talk about it.  

Bart Jan Krouwel
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility