ABN AMRO signs statement for Covid-19 recovery plan based on sustainability
- Sustainability
Along with nearly 300 other companies, ABN AMRO has signed the statement ‘Dutch businesses endorse sustainability in Covid-19 recovery’. The statement is a plea for adopting sustainability as the cornerstone of the Covid-19 recovery plans. Under the leadership of Jan Peter Balkenende, chairman of the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC), the statement was handed to Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag on 19 June.
“Despite the unprecedented crisis we find ourselves in, we mustn’t forget the major challenges our society faces, like climate change, poverty and inequality,” Jan Peter Balkenende says. “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations can be our guide in deciding how to spend the money from large recovery funds that are currently being set up. I’m pleasantly surprised that so many Dutch companies endorsed the statement within just a few days, and the number of registrations is still rising. This shows the widely felt commitment to a sustainable recovery and a better society.”
The statement was drafted on the initiative of the DSGC in collaboration with the Dutch VNO-NCW business lobby group, Global Compact Nederland, MVO Nederland and the Dutch Bankers’ Association.
Dutch companies are asking the Dutch government to:
1. Support the EU Commission’s intention to make theGreen Deal the central element of the EU recovery plan,
2. Commit to investments from the European recovery planthat will help realise the SDGs,
3. Ensure that the Dutch climate agreement is followed upon and – if possible –accelerated through additional investments.
“The Covid-19 crisis is hitting society during its transition to a more sustainable economy. Amid this crisis, it’s even more clear to ABN AMRO that we must continue to support the transition to a sustainable future. Our strategy is fully aimed at sustainability andlong-term value creation. Even during this time of crisis, we haven’t lost our vision of a sustainable future,” Richard Kooloos, Director of Group Sustainability explains. “National and international cooperation are of the utmost importance. We readily support the DSGC’s initiative, as cooperation with other parties will bring us to a sustainable future.”
About the DSGC
The Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC) is a CEO-led coalition of eight Dutch multinationals (AkzoNobel, DSM, FrieslandCampina, Heineken, KLM, Philips, Shell, Unilever). VNO-NCW supports the DSGC and Accenture facilitates the coalition. Members of the coalitiondevelop and implement business models for sustainable growth which combine economic profitability with ecological and social progress. This way, they wantto contribute to achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals by 2030.