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Reduction targets

 

We aim to continuously improve the scope of our facility-level emissions reporting and have accordingly enhanced our suite of scope 3 emissions by expanding our boundaries to include a wider range of our suppliers. Our aim is to continually improve the quality of data sets from these and other suppliers. We remain committed to setting reduction targets related to our facilities and keeping track of these goals to decrease our operations' impact on the environment and help reduce the physical risks caused by climate change. These targets clearly state our resource consumption levels and carbon emissions. Our aim is to reach or exceed our emission reduction targets, and to use these targets as a framework for responsible use and management of natural resources across our different operational levels: the whole group, smaller clusters, business units, teams and individuals. We ensure regular communications with our employees to foster an understanding of their important role in decreasing the environmental impact of our operations. Our emissions reduction targets form part of our performance contracts with our employees, reinforcing their significant role in our combined sustainability endeavours. We place emphasis on the correctness of the scope and location of what we quantify when evaluating our progress against our emissions reduction targets. The table summarises important quantities used in the evaluation of our emissions intensity and target performance.

 

 

Carbon footprint calculation methodology for the financial year ending 31 December 2023

 

Our carbon footprint was calculated employing the revised edition of the GHG Protocol - Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. External experts were consulted in instances where an estimation of specific activity quantities was required or where guidance applicable to SA was not available.

 

Inclusions

 

This year marks the inaugural phase of our extended supply chain emissions reporting. As a significant stride towards enhancing our scope 3 reporting, we have broadened our carbon footprint to encompass emissions from our cloud computing and digital platform service providers, one of our principal cash-in transit service providers, our courier service provider and our distributed workforce (work-from-home). This expansion not only advances our comprehension of emissions within our supply chain, but also facilitates meaningful engagements with our suppliers, thereby driving collaborative efforts towards emissions reduction. A notable challenge encountered during this initial phase was the lack of granular data available from all providers.

The following activities and data were included in our carbon footprint:

  • South African operations’ emission activities and equipment.
  • Emission activities of Nedbank employees associated directly with South African offices and branches (535 in both 2022and 2023).
  • Non-South African locations’ emissions - the grid emission factor for each respective country for 2023 was applied to electricity consumption.

 

Exclusions

 

The emissions from shuttle services were omitted from the carbon footprint in both the previous and current years. This exclusion is due to minor adjustments made to the volume of these activities in 2023, which remained relatively unchanged from the previous year (2022: 1 tCO2e). When compared to other more substantial emission sources, these emissions were deemed negligible. Water consumption of 15 850 kℓ (2022: 6 456 kℓ) and electricity consumption of 2 797 MWh (2022: 1 663 MWh) by external tenants were excluded in 2023 and 2022 as these would form part of the external tenants’ carbon footprints and are relatively small in comparison to Nedbank’s own operations’ emissions from these sources.

The following were not available for quantification and not included in our carbon footprint:

  • Emissions from assets that Nedbank finances, as this section of carbon footprint is focused on Nedbank’s own operations.
  • Emissions associated with the operation and servicing of ATMs, self-service terminals and point-of-sale devices located away from a branch or office premises, and other remote devices.
  • Emissions from other premises or activities owned or operated by us, but not explicitly referenced in this report, such as Nedbank kiosks in retail stores.
  • Emissions from business activities in countries outside of SA, apart from electricity emissions.
  • Emissions from electricity transmission and distribution losses, as we have recently taken the initiative to focus our improved accuracy efforts on the incorporation of country-specific grid emission factors, rather than solely relying on SA’s grid emission factor. As a result, the process of including emissions from transmission and distribution losses in the carbon footprint is still under way.
  • Emissions from water-use, recycled and landfill waste generated from our operations may be considered in future, based on a significance assessment that we aim to conduct to further enhance our scope 3 carbon footprint reporting. However, we set targets for these activities and are tracking our performance against these targets.
  • Emissions from upstream extraction, production, transportation, and distribution of fuels used by Nedbank. The exclusion is due to the limitations in the suitability of South African emission factors for these emissions. Our intention is to consider these emissions in future assessments as part of our commitment to enhancing our scope 3 emissions reporting supported by a significance assessment.

 

Progress on targets

 

In 2019 (the baseline year) Nedbank set new reduction targets for our own operations in South Africa for 2020 to 2025, as the previous targets set had been achieved prior to the target deadlines. Currently, our progress towards these targets is outlined in the table below.