sitecontent

The current climate protection debate clearly shows that the preservation of our natural resources is a key concern for society and economy. Internal environmental protection therefore is a core element of our corporate responsibility. For several years already, WestLB has benefited from the costs saved as a result of increasingly efficient resource utilisation: we have not only cut the consumption of resources but also reduced our emissions and waste significantly. Since January 2011, all of WestLB AG German locations have been supplied with electricity from 100 per cent hydropower.

Environmental Management

German branches and offices are certified to the international ISO 14001:2004 standard since 2007. Our environmental management system was successfully recertified in 2010. The environmental auditors have thus confirmed that WestLB systematically analyses its environmental impact and is constantly working to reduce it. Our reporting practice under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol also complies with international standards. This means that we include both direct and indirect emissions in our calculations. The direct emissions primarily stem from the use of fossil energies, while indirect emissions are produced in the generation of electricity and district heat. Indirect emissions in the wider sense mainly include emissions from business trips.

Building Management

As a bank we are particularly interested in energy consumption in our buildings and branches. The crucial elements of efficient energy management at our locations are the architecture of the buildings and the technical equipment available in the office buildings. When carrying out building and modernisation work, we pay close attention, therefore, to low operating and energy costs as well as ecological aspects. Before renting new properties, we subject them to an environmental test. In the course of the energetic modernisation of our largest building in Düsseldorf providing 1,400 workplaces, we have achieved savings of approximately 30 per cent since completion of the work in mid-2008 compared to the situation before 2003. The energy management system introduced by the Bank comprises a number of measures to ensure that potential savings are realised. To save electricity in the IT area, WestLB is currently reviewing, among other things, the possibility of a central switch-off of PCs.

Mobility

Business trips account for a substantial portion of all carbon dioxide emissions at WestLB. In 2010, the employees of WestLB Deutschland AG travelled an average of 7,851 kilometres each, which means that the total distances covered have fallen compared to the previous year (2009: 8,887 kilometres/employee). The employees of WestLB International travelled an average of 17,187 kilometres with a high share of air travel (96 per cent). To further reduce emissions from business trips, employees are encouraged to make increased use of video conferences.

Since 2004 our modified travel expense guidelines have given preference to rail travel over air travel. A concessionary job ticket is available to employees at the Düsseldorf head office as an incentive to make greater use of bus and rail travel. Employees at other WestLB locations receive travel allowances. We also set up an internal car-sharing scheme for employees on the Intranet in 2010.

Resource and Waste Management

In 2010 WestLB AG in Germany consumed 166.7 tons of paper. This represents an average of 45.7 kilograms per employee. This is a clear reduction over the previous year (2009: 56.1 kilograms). We managed to increase the share of recycling paper used in 2010 – from 43.7 per cent to 52.2 per cent. We intend to increase this share to 75 per cent by late 2012.

In the context of our new waste management system, we are currently recording all types of waste and the respective quantities and making increased use measures aimed at avoiding waste. In 2010, the total volume of waste from German operations stabilised at the previous year’s level with 1,938 tons (2009: 1,938 tons). This is attributable, among other things, to the fact that we vacated several rented buildings in the reporting period, which led to a temporary increase in the amount of waste. Additional efforts are required to achieve even more effective separation of waste types and to translate these improvements into a reduction in the total amount of waste.

Sustainable Canteens

Since certification in 2003, the Düsseldorf canteen has been licensed to use the label “Mahlzeiten aus ökologischer Agrarwirtschaft” (Meals from Organic Agriculture). With the increase in the share of food from organic farming, we are also contributing towards climate protection, as CO2 emissions per hectare from organic farming are about 60 per cent lower than from conventional agriculture. WestLB’s catering and housekeeping services do a great deal to support the regional economy. Many products are sourced from local suppliers.

Biological Station - Schloss Krickenbeck

In 1988, WestLB AG acquired the dilapidated “Schloss Krickenbeck” castle on the Lower Rhine, including 95 hectares of forest with the aim to integrate them into the “Krickenbecker Seen” natural reserve, and established a Biological Station on the site. Following complex restoration work, Schloss Krickenbeck was turned into a high-quality conference hotel offering a wide range of first-class congresses and other events as well as an excellent training programme.