Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Dec 05, 2007
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Dec 05, 2007 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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Money & Banking
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Foreign Banks ABN Amro to set up more ‘green’ branches
Our Bureau Mumbai, Dec. 4 “Green” is the favourite colour of ABN Amro Bank for more reasons than one. The environment-friendly bank, which has pioneered the concept of a ‘green’ building for its Ahmedabad branch, will now follow the same model for all its future branches. “The cost of setting up a ‘green’ branch is 20 per cent more than a regular branch. But the costs will come down as scale increases and all our future branches will follow the same ‘green’ model,” said Mr Romesh Sobti, Country Executive, ABN Amro India ABN Amro Bank’s Ahmedabad branch is one of the seven buildings in the world that has been given a platinum certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System promoted by the US Green Building Council. LEED evaluates buildings on five key parameters including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Smart technologyThe bank’s Ahmedabad branch employs smart technology like motion and heat sensors in every room to reduce power consumption to the minimum. A computer controlled building management system monitors and adjusts the lighting and air conditioning in every part of the building, depending on requirements, occupancy and available light. Non-toxic paint has been used for the interiors and heat-deflecting windows have been put in place to save energy costs. Employees who have to travel while offering ‘door-step’ banking services will be given electric scooters. The bank, which has a branch network of 28, has licences to add three more branches to its network. Sustainability reportABN Amro released its first ‘sustainability report’ today, which includes key indicators on the bank and its subsidiaries’ environmental and social governance performance. There are only four companies in India which put out similar ‘sustainability reports’. The companies include ITC, Tata Tea and Dr Reddy’s. “Sustainable banking is a way of doing business, and not the cost of doing business,” said Mr Sobti. ABN Amro’s report measures performance on environmental indicators such as paper, water and electricity usage. It is currently in the process of designing an integrated action plan to cover three specific areas such as the environmental impact of their buildings, business travel and purchases “Disclosure of sustainability performance has already become a key selection criterion for most global institutional investors, including some of the world’s largest pension funds,” said Ms Moumita Sensarma, ABN Amro’s Head of Microfinance and Sustainable Development. More Stories on : Foreign Banks | Environment
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