Sustainability in practice at VP Bank and VP Fund Solutions in Luxembourg

In order to respond effectively to the risks and opportunities confronting the economy and society, VP Bank's strategy is geared to the megatrends that are shaping the financial industry. Especially with regard to the topic of sustainability, a growing awareness of its importance can be observed.

Obligations towards the society

Sustainability also includes the well-being of the communities in which the Bank operates. As a regionally anchored banking group, VP Bank fulfils its social and environmental obligations to society at its locations and in the regions in which it is represented. The basis for these activities is the "Location Strategy" within the framework of the Bank's Group strategy.

VP Bank promotes and lives social responsibility. With its move into a new, environmentally certified building in November 2018, the Bank is pursuing a strategy of making regular donations to charitable local organisations. In recent years, six organisations have been supported with cash donations.

In June 2022, VP Bank (Luxembourg) SA and VP Fund Solutions (Luxembourg) SA made a donation to two charitable foundations.

The "Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur" received a donation from VP Bank (Luxembourg) SA and VP Fund Solutions (Luxembourg) SA in mid-May 2022. The purchase and maintenance of nature conservation areas, information and awareness campaigns for the protection of nature and biodiversity, scientific work, the protection of forests as well as the implementation of national, interregional and European projects for the protection of nature are important fields of activity of the foundation. Donations give it the financial means to implement these projects. A cheque was handed over by Claus Jørgensen and Torsten Ries to Carine Pütz and Nicolas Hormain of the Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur.

For more than 30 years, the "Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner" has supported families of children suffering from cancer or a rare life-threatening disease. Its multidisciplinary team provides individual support from diagnosis to the child's cure, offering administrative and financial services, psychological and social support, as well as educational and recreational activities. In addition, the foundation conducts awareness campaigns, participates in improving the condition of sick children and actively supports oncopaediatric research. Claus Jørgensen and Torsten Ries handed over a cheque to Pierre Dochen from the Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner.

Donations for a good cause

In November 2018, VP Bank and VP Fund Solutions moved into new, modern offices on Kirchberg. The environmentally certified building was planned and constructed with the goal of high energy efficiency and optimised energy consumption. It not only offers the ideal infrastructure for the approximately 130 employees, but also enables them to implement an integrated mobility concept thanks to the favourable location on Kirchberg and the direct tram and bus connection.

The move meant that some of the old furniture could no longer be used at the new location. VP Bank therefore decided to sell the old furniture to the employees, including computers, lamps and tables. The proceeds of EUR 6,000 went to the SOS Kannerduerf Lëtzebuerg Foundation, which has been helping children in need in Luxembourg since the 1960s. The handover of a cheque to Jean-Paul Karpen, General Director of SOS Kannerduerf Letzebuerg, took place in January 2019.

In May 2020, a donation was made as part of the "Neighbours for Neighbours" project to the staff of the "Hôpital du Kirchberg" as a thank-you for their extraordinary commitment in times of Covid-19. At the same time, this donation in kind in the form of 1,130 bottles of fresh fruit juices also supported three young local companies that, like VP Bank, live by the principle of sustainability.

As part of the year-end donations 2020, two more local institutions were donated: microlux and the institute "FDEF Center on Sustainable Governance and Markets" (CSGM) of the University in Luxembourg. With its expertise in microfinance and social entrepreneurship, the financial institution microlux pursues the sustainable goal of enabling and facilitating the start-up and expansion of business activities for individuals or social enterprises that do not have access to traditional bank loans. With its second donation to CSGM Institutes, VP Bank supported research in the field of ESG, but also invested in the future, as today's students are tomorrow's decision-makers.

Sustainable investment solutions

For VP Bank Group, living sustainability also includes comprehensive measures to reposition the product range and access new innovative investment solutions, such as the consistent integration of sustainability criteria into the investment processes and the launch of the new "Plus" sustainability mandate. With the sustainable investment philosophy "Investing for Change" and the "VP Bank Green Basket", clients are offered further opportunities to invest sustainably.

The "Green City Basket" is an equity certificate allowing investors to participate in the trend towards modern, sustainable cities and urban regions. The portfolio selects companies based on four technological and environmentally sustainable trends: modern government, clean utilities, ecologically sustainable infrastructure and urban mobility. A growing number of investors find this a great way to invest their wealth.

In addition, VP Bank published its first sustainability report in 2021, which complies with the international standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and is now published annually. Likewise, the VPSS sustainability score was fully implemented and VP Bank joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) convened by the UN, which is committed to aligning its credit business and investment portfolio to net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Dr Lars Kaiser, Head of Group Sustainability at VP Bank Ltd: ""As VP Bank Group, we are aware of our social responsibility and take actions to positively contribute to society and the environment. On the one hand, climate protection is the foundation of a future worth living for generations to come. On the other hand, social projects and the support of families who have suffered such misfortunes are close to our hearts. We hope to be able to make a small contribution with our donations and thereby give something back to the communities we serve and operate in."