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last update: Jul 20, 2010
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printStandard Chartered - United Kingdom banktrack contact
Jora Wolterink, BankTrack bank contact
Chris Smith - Standard Chartered, UK ![]() Branch of Standard Chartered in United Arabic Emirates
key facts
headquarters
1 Basinghall AvenueEC2V 5DD London United Kingdom total assets
$437 billion (2009) key regions of operation
Asia Pacific, Africa, The Middle East, UK/Europe, The Americas
supervisor
Bank of England CEO/chair
Peter Sands CEO number of employees
77,326 (2009) ownership
Publicly listed about Standard Chartered
Despite its British base, Standard Chartered has few customers in the United Kingdom and 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Its operations lie predominantly in former British colonies, though over the past two decades it has now expanded operations into 70 countries and territories. Standard Chartered offers the full range of banking products to consumers, private clients and business, including an extensive Islamic banking operation.
voluntary standards and commitments
Carbon Disclosure Project
The CDP impels organisations to record their carbon footprint in daily activities. Encouraging enterprises to calculate and disclose their carbon impact, this initiative highlights the challenge for financial institutions to determine exactly how much carbon output can be attributed to financing.
Carbon Principles
Set of guidelines for banks and their U.S. power clients to evaluate and address carbon risks in the financing of electric power projects.
Climate Principles
Voluntary framework to guide the finance sector in tackling the challenge of climate change. They address the management of operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide direction on managing climate change in research activities; asset management; retail banking; insurance & re-insurance; corporate banking; investment banking & markets; project finance.
Equator Principles
The EPs are a set of guidelines, based upon the Performance Standards and guidelines from the IFC, the World Bank's private sector lending arm for private banks to asesses and mitigate risks in project finance. Banks use the Principles to guide internal operating procedures for transaction for specific projects. Although the EPs are an important step to raise overall standards of financiers and projects in the developing world, they currently fall short on transparency and governance requirements.
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
The verification and full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining is supported by the EITI. Financial institutions can participate and encourage resource-rich countries to support the initiative that aims to defeat poverty, corruption and conflict caused by weak transparency and accountability.
Global Reporting Initiative
As the name suggests, the GRI aims to standardise good practice in transparency. GRI provides companies with guidelines to organise their annual report with reporting indices and standards addressing environmental, social and economic issues that business ought to address when telling the world about its performance.
UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact is a set of ten principles that companies may sign voluntarily. Signatories promise to avoid complicity in human rights violations, adhere to labour standards, protect the environment and avoid corruption. The G8 countries urge companies to participate in this initiative, and with over 2900 companies signing up, the Global Compact has momentum. A voluntary and network based framework, the Global Compact actively promotes peer review and stakeholder participation.
UNEP Finance Initiative
UNEP is the 'voice of the environment' for the United Nations system, promoting international cooperation in the field of the environment. Issues concerning the financial community are addressed by the UNEP Finance Initiative which promotes investment in clean and renewable energy by financial institutions and other investors. Financial insititutions wishing to join must sign one of two Statements (for financial institutions and a separate one for the insurance industry).
UNEP Principles for Responsible Investments
UNPRI is a set of six principles direct institutional investors may adopt to consider environmental, social and corporate governance issues when investing. Voluntary and aspirational in nature, UNPRI has since its inception in 2006 attracted 200 signatories, representing US$8 trillion worth of investments.
Wolfsberg principles
Since the turn of the century a group of twelve banks known as the Wolfsberg Group have collaborated to improve ethical standards. The principles provide guidance on money laundering, corruption and the financing of terrorism. They have been produced to address deficiencies in areas 'yet to be fully articulated by lawmakers or regulators'.
Standard Chartered has also developed additional sustainability policies. You can find them below, or under 'documents' in the menu. sustainability policies of Standard Chartered
2010 sector and issue policies
General comments Banktrack on policies Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered Bank's Group Environmental and Social Risk Policy is targeted at clients. It does not go further than compliance to local and national law and adherence to the Equator Principles. In this policy the criteria are not disclosed, therefore this document cannot be awarded any points. -readmore-
Standard Chartered Bank developed Sector and Issue Position Statements to provide guidance on banking activities in sectors with high potential for social or environmental impact. The statements set out standards and practices to be followed in and apply to all lending and investment banking services (lending, equity and/or debt capital markets activities, project finance and advisory work) provided by the bank to new and existing clients. The statements also complement and reinforce Standard Chartered's commitment to the Equator Principles. Besides the sectors and issues mentioned in the table above, SCB also has position statements on Tobacco and Gaming and Gambling. Most position statements are far reaching and contain preconditions for the bank's clients but do not include all basic elements this benchmark expects a bank policy to have. Thus, SCB's position statements are awarded with one or two point(s) at the sectors and issues they apply to. For example, the position statements related to climate change include some, but not half of the essential elements. Therefore this policy is accredited one point. But the SCB Position Statement Forestry and Palm oil is awarded two points for Forestry because it misses only one essential element. We highly recommend to include an element (or develop a policy) about respecting the land rights of Indigenous peoples.
bank comment
India | Bauxite mine Niyamgiri Hills | mining | active file
Canada | Canadian Tar Sands | oil and gas | active file
Papua New Guinea | LNG Project | Gas supplier | active file
India | Mining in Goa/ Sesa Goa | mining | active file
Laos | Nam Theun 2 | dams | active file
Russian Federation | Sakhalin II oil and gas project | oil and gas | active file
Indonesia | Grasberg Mine | mining | on record
Philippines | Rapu Rapu Copper Mine | mining | on record
BankTrack has identified controversial issues with the companies listed below that require attention from Standard Chartered. bank comment
NHPC | India
Vedanta Resources | United Kingdom
Walmart | United States
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Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is a leading financial institution across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. With a deep presence in many markets, we understand that we play an important role in the development of local economies. We also recognise that our future success is dependent on the growth of these economies over the long term. Sustainable development is essential; for our clients, our communities and our shareholders.
Many of the markets in which we operate are the subject of social or environmental concerns. Our aspiration is to be a “Force for Good” - to meet the business needs of our clients while actively engaging them to conduct business responsibly. We seek to be a positive influence, helping clients to understand and adopt internationally accepted standards, and, in so doing, connect with their local communities and contribute to their development.