PJSC Sberbank : Sber tells investors about its ESG transformation

Sber has held Investor Day dedicated to its ESG transformation.

Sber top executives speaking at the event were First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board Alexander Vedyakhin, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board Stanislav Kuznetsov, Senior Vice President and Head of the Risks Unit Dzhangir Dzhangirov, Senior Vice President for ESG Tatiana Zavyalova, and Senior Managing Director, Head of Business Valuation & IR Anastasia Belyanina. Leading investment firms, foundations, people from the financial industry, and individual shareholders participated in the event.

The Sber team talked about its first climate strategy, presented Sber's 2023 ESG goals in terms of climate, the company's impact, responsible finance, customers and employees, as well as shared its vision of risk management in ESG and data privacy.

By 2023, Sber's portfolio of green and ESG loans is set to add RUB 500 bn, with 100% of the portfolio to be labeled using ESG criteria. The share of green energy in Sber's total consumption should grow to 30% and its recycling rate should rise to 40%.

At the session, Sber also revealed that S&P Global Ratings had assigned Sber an ESG Evaluation of 67/100, up 2 points since 2020.

Sber also presented its evaluation of its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in 2020. The company's greenhouse gas emissions are split into three categories. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, and heating consumed by the reporting company. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions, including those associated with the provision of financial services.

Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank:

"Our Scope 1 direct emissions amounted to 131,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Their main sources are fossil fuels burned to heat our branches and offices, and to fuel our vehicles. We compared Sber's specific CO2 emissions per employee with those of other banks and technology companies in Europe, the United States and China. The resulting value of 0.5 metric tons of CO2 per employee exceeds the emissions of some banks, but is significantly less than that of tech giants. Our Scope 2 indirect emissions reached 562,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020. The main sources here were the consumption of electricity and heat to support the operations of our branches and offices. By 2023, we expect to reduce Sber's direct emissions by 5% for Scope 1 and by 15% for Scope 2. By 2030, we have set a goal to achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2. As for Scope 3, the evaluation is ongoing. We will be ready to unveil the results once it is complete."

The Investor Day recording and presentation are available on the bank's website.