We have a number of tools and policies in place to address sustainability issues specific to sectors in which Fortis is active. A short introduction and the relevant policy documents can be found below. For a review of our CSR performance in each of these sectors, please refer to our annual CSR Report.

Shipping

Awareness of CSR issues in the shipping sector is growing rapidly. Marine and air pollution, crewing and labour conditions, and the accountability and transparency of shipping companies are all major issues requiring the industry to take action. We’re playing our part at Fortis, too: in 2006, we developed a sustainability assessment tool for the sector.

Highlight
First bank to provide ‘Green Award Incentives’ Fortis has become a ‘Green Award Incentive Provider’ (GAIP)’. That means we now contribute to the ‘Green Award Incentive Programme’ by offering our shipping customers a discount on the cost of joining. The programme is organised by an independent foundation set up in 1994 by Rotterdam Municipal Port Management and the Dutch Ministry of Transport. The Green Award Flag is granted to vessels that can demonstrate a high standard of cleanliness and safety. Under the new agreement, Fortis will refund 25 per cent of the annual Green Award fees for vessels we finance and a similar proportion of the Green Award office audit fees for our shipping company clients. We will actively promote the programme among our customers, too. Fortis will also explore the potential for combining our Sustainable Shipping Assessment Tool with the Green Award screening methodology, and will encourage the incorporation of sustainability criteria in financing models throughout the shipping finance industry.

What do our stakeholders say?
	Karin Struijk and Jan Fransen, directors of Green Award: “We are pleased that Fortis has taken a lead in promoting sustainable shipping from a banker’s perspective. The link between the Fortis Sustainable Shipping Assessment Tool and the Green Award Programme will enhance the overall results. The Fortis SSA tool addresses a nice range of elements that relate to sustainability. A very good first step has been taken and we hope that the tool will be fine-tuned using appropriate assessment criteria. The operation and review/evaluation of the tool will certainly be a guiding factor for this fine-tuning. We hope that other financial institutions will follow this excellent example.”

Agri commodities

In close consultation with our stakeholders, we drew up a policy designed to address key sustainability issues with regard to agricultural commodities. It was to be sufficiently detailed to make a real difference and to enable Fortis to engage in a meaningful learning cycle with our clients. We are convinced that sustainable business practices make good commercial sense in this area too. They enhance our relationship with our customers and increase our knowledge of the sector, leading in turn to innovation and an even better service. Fortis’s Agri Sustainability Policy embeds our Agri Core Values in our day-to-day commodities operations.

Defence

Fortis’s Executive Committee endorsed our Defence Industry Policy in October 2005. In it, we state that Fortis does not want to be involved in the production or trading of controversial weapons, or in any other activity relating to them. We have rigorously enforced that policy and will continue to do so.

Burma

It is our policy not to finance any projects or activities in Burma. We are fully aware of the situation in that country and publicly distanced ourselves from the regime as early as 2003. Click here to read more about this important issue.