The navigators – in-house experts on operational excellence – took note of SEB's sustainability work and then discussed and did problem solving on how SEB Way can support the sustainability work, to make it become a natural part of the business.
“Sustainable development is an area which is increasingly in focus and will grow in importance. Our customers, employees and shareholders expect us, as a bank, to take on a greater responsibility in society and also contribute to sustainable development through our investments," says Cecilia Widebäck West, head of Corporate Sustainability at SEB.
There are several similarities between corporate sustainability and SEB Way as both are a matter of minimising the waste of resources, improving work and changing behaviour. For example, employees could potentially travel less to reduce carbon emissions. It is also important to review business processes to secure that they are sustainable and to ensure that SEB consistently bases all sales and marketing on a customer perspective.
One concrete example of an SEB Way project – a so called transformation – that integrated the sustainability perspective was one at SEB’s Output Management unit, which aimed to minimise and coordinate mailings to customers.
“Sustainability is something that affects us all in SEB and for us at SEB Way, it is important to understand how we can support all of our businesses in this area," says Isabelle Cassel , head of SEB Way.
According to SEB's business plan for the coming three years, corporate sustainability will be an integrated part of the business in 2012. This work started in 2009 and a closer cooperation with SEB Way is a step in achieving this change.