A sustainable and ecodynamic organisation

ecodynamic

In our desire to be a sustainable and green central bank, we are putting a lot of effort into reducing our ecological footprint, for example looking at our energy consumption, waste management and mobility. We are also committed to a sustainable purchasing policy. For several years now, these efforts have been rewarded with a three-star Ecodynamic enterprise label awarded by Brussels Environment.

CO2-neutral

CO2 neutral label

We are doing our best to keep our CO2 emissions as low as possible, inter alia managing energy efficiently, using 100% green electricity, adding electric vehicles to our vehicle fleet and limiting non-recyclable waste as far as possible. To offset our unavoidable residual emissions (carbon offsetting), we are providing financial support to a number of certified climate projects in developing countries. Our contribution to these projects has been rewarded three years in a row by the CO2-neutral label awarded by the Belgian company CO2logic, a label demonstrating that we are actively calculating, reducing and offsetting our CO2 emissions.

Efficient cookers in Ghana

With this project run by CO2logic and its partners, climate- and health-friendly cookers are being developed and distributed in Ghana. These cookers enable countless trees to be saved, supporting families, stimulating economic activity and improving health in Ghana. 

footprint

We are working hard on further reducing our CO2 emissions, inter alia through reducing total office floorspace and renovating our headquarters building.

The Ecodynamic Enterprise label

Logo Ecodynamische onderneming (leefmilieu Brussel)

In 2019, Brussels Environment awarded us a three-star Ecodynamic Enterprise label, rewarding our efforts to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment. To gain the label, we have to achieve a certain score in 368 action points covering nine fields: organisation, energy, purchasing, mobility, waste, green spaces, noise, water and ground quality.

A selection of our actions:

  • The Bank is buying 100% green electricity, thereby reducing its emissions by almost 3 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
  • As part of the renovation of our offices, we are installing energy-saving LED lighting as well as heat wheels to recover heat from the ventilation air.
  • We are constantly looking for ways to use less paper.
  • We have installed drinking water fountains and given each employee a reusable drinking bottle, a move with a clear impact on the number of plastic water bottles.
  • We have purchased three further e-bikes for travel during the day, meaning that we now have five e-bikes at the disposal of our staff.
  • We have extended our bicycle shed and installed sockets to charge e-bikes or hybrid cars. In addition, our carpark has twelve charging points for electric cars.
Waste paper and cardboard
Sale of 1 litre plastic bottles of water
Single-use coffee cups

Good Food label

label goodfood

Our company restaurant has been awarded the Good Food label by Brussels Environment. Factors leading to this award include the use of local products, fairtrade and organic products, seasonal fruit and vegetables, veggie Thursdays and our donation of any leftovers to charity.

The label has three levels or forks. Currently on level two, we are doing our best to tweak our actions to move up to three forks.

A new and sustainable building project

Sustainability is also an important criterion for the Bank's new building project. Involving the sale and renovation of our buildings, this project presents a major challenge. We need to make sure that we are on the right track here, as this project will ultimately determine how the Bank performs in the coming decades in the environmental and energy field.

Sustainable real estate strategy

  • We are aiming to have a sustainable and future-proofed stock of buildings by 2030: multifunctional and compact, with CO2 emissions as low as possible.
  • We are helping achieve the climate neutrality goals of the EU (the Green Deal) and the Brussels-Capital Region

CashCenter

In our new Cash Centre in Zellik, a large share of the energy needed will be generated by geothermal energy and solar panels. An ecological pond will also be created, as well as a green zone with native trees and local plant species that respect biodiversity. The building materials are also being chosen with a view to sustainability. The location of the new Cash Centre, close to Zellik train station, was selected inter alia because of its good accessibility. Given its proximity to the Brussels Ring motorway, cash transports from or to the Cash Centre will hardly need to use secondary roads.

Sustainable procurement

Driven by the Ecodynamic Enterprise label (and the Good Food label), we are supplementing our efforts in the procurement field with additional objectives.

We want our procurement staff and everyone involved in tenders to receive training in sustainable purchasing policy.

By 2025, at least 75% of our procurement staff must have completed training in sustainability in the past three years.

At least 75% of tenders must be handled by a manager who has undergone sustainability training within the last three years.

Sustainability criteria are increasingly being taken into serious account in procurement procedures, as seen for instance by our expectation that an increasing share of our suppliers have sustainability labels.

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