INDUSTRY WATCH as well as having a clear governance structure and policies to provide confidence to customers that the organisation is fully transparent and accountable . A comprehensive set of tools will also need to be made available in order for customers to understand their individual impact , such as carbon footprint calculators .
Takalane Khashane , Managing Director , Iron
Mountain South Africa
A 20 % ESG-related share in new retail banking revenues in the next five years , for example , would
result in a roughly 10 % share of total retail banking revenues , approximately $ 300 billion , by 2025 .
The Edelman Trust Barometer found that 88 % of investors believe companies that prioritise ESG initiatives , including sustainability , represent better opportunities for long-term returns than companies that do not .
To fully unlock this value , retail banks will need to develop strong ESG goals . Many banks are already focusing on developing robust ESG targets . The BCG study showed nearly half of retail banks are primarily focused on environmental sustainability issues , such as reducing energy consumption in offices , and 60 % are prioritising governance issues , including managing critical risk incidents , building cyber-resilience , and developing predictive risk analytics to ensure improved preparedness and mitigation .
Additionally , banks will be able to build out new enablers such as green product offerings alongside their existing products . Data , along with developing AI tools , will be crucial to understanding the environmental and societal impacts of their behaviours ,
SUSTAINABILITY IS QUICKLY BECOMING THE NEXT FRONTIER OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR BANKS .
Just as data lies at the heart of the ability to improve the customer experience and tailor banking products and services to fit customer needs , it also underpins strong ESG programmes . It not only enables accurate performance measurement , it creates opportunities to implement more sustainable information management practices within ESG programmes and the broader business .
Unlocking data and assets
Asset Lifecycle Management , ALM , the management of IT Assets and electronic media throughout their entire lifecycle , is critical to any data security framework in the digital age . Employing services like secure IT asset disposition , including remarketing , recycling , and media destruction , can help banks become more sustainable while ensuring data security .
With an increased focus on the circular economy and meeting ESG goals , choosing the right ALM partner is crucial in order to ensure that end-of-life IT assets are managed in a secure , compliant , and environmentallyfriendly manner .
A circular economy relies on the notion that retired IT equipment should be treated as valuable assets . By remarketing or redeploying decommissioned equipment , businesses can lower the total cost of ownership and extend the useful life of their IT assets . While products may come to the end of their lifecycle , their use does not have to . For those IT assets that can ’ t be given a productive second life , they can be diverted from the waste stream through recycling .
There are several benefits , both environmental and commercial , for banks to embed circular principles into their IT Asset Management practices . Ensuring secure and compliant disposal of all data , be it physical or digital , means that banks can keep to their social and environmental commitments and improve sustainability in the long-term .
This , together with an ongoing investment in emerging technologies and digital solutions to continuously improve the customer experience , is the key to building digital , sustainable banking for the future . p
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