ABN AMRO Impact Assessment 2019 Note On Methodology
ABN AMRO Impact Assessment 2019 Note On Methodology
ABN AMRO Impact Assessment 2019 Note On Methodology
ABN AMRO Impact
Assessment 2019
Note on Methodology
11 March 2020, version 1.0
II
Contents
Introduction
About this document
The ABN AMRO 2019 Integrated Annual Review (IAR) includes an impact assessment,
which provides an assessment of the impact of the majority of ABN AMRO’s activities
during 2019.1 This document provides an overview of the methodology, data and
modelling used to make the impact assessment included in the IAR.
This document is structured as follows. It starts with Context of the impact assessment
the chapter ‘Scope of the assessment’ which describes Between 2014 and 2018, a number of pilot impact
the scope of the impact assessment for ABN AMRO. assessments were conducted. These assessments
Then, the chapter ‘Methodological Approach’ provides the strengthened the understanding of the impact ABN AMRO
key methodological approach (generic to all Capitals and has, as a bank, through both its operations and value
impacts assessed). It is followed by the chapter ‘Input chain. The pilot assessments include the diamonds
Data’ which discusses input data and its procedures. industry, mortgage provision and a qualitative impact
The chapter ‘Modelling Approach’ provides the modelling assessment for the bank as a whole. Based on these and
approach and the last chapter ‘Key Assumptions’ lists the other pilots, the concept of an Integrated Profit & Loss
main assumptions and limitations of the assessment. Assessment was developed. ABN AMRO has been
working on this concept with Impact Institute and other
Two appendices supplement this document. The first partners. While this remains a work in progress, an
one gives a high-level overview of the methodological extensive overview and understanding of ABN AMRO’s
approach per Capital. The second appendix provides a list impact has been constructed. The first bank-wide
of all impacts in scope, with a brief description and a note assessment was published in the 2018 Impact Report.
on the methodological approach. The 2019 Integrated Annual Review now includes results
from the second assessment.
The methodology described in this document is based
on the Integrated Profit and Loss (IP&L) Assessment Impact measurement and impact assessment is still
Methodology (IAM) of Impact Institute , available on 2
a young science and our methodology continues to
impactinstitute.com/ipl-assessment-methodology. evolve. With this assessment, we already have an
extensive overview and understanding of our impact.
However, it remains a work in progress. Impact indicators
and valuation factors may change in the future and new
ones may be introduced.
1
ABN AMRO also publishes an Impact Report 2019 as a ‘More report’, that contains more detailed results than the Integrated Annual Report.
2
Impact Institute, (2020a); Impact Institute, (2020b).
Time scope
The Impact Assessment is assessed for the calendar year Figure 1: The six Capitals for impact assessment
2019. The scope includes both realised well-being (and
realised breaches of rights) as well as the increase or Financial Capital
decrease of the value of assets to society during 2019. All assets that are a form of money or other financial
assets, including contracts. Financial Capital is owned
by a specific stakeholder in almost all instances. Almost
all Financial Capital exchanges between stakeholders
Activities scope preserve the total amount of Financial Capital (positive
impact for one, and negative for the other that is
In this assessment, internal impacts (effects that are compensated in another capital.
reflected in the prices of transactions ABN AMRO is
involved in) are measured for 95% of the organisation’s Manufactured Capital
All tangible assets. This includes the assets used for
activities and external impacts (effects that are not production (property, plant, and equipment, sometimes
reflected in the prices of the transactions ABN AMRO collectively referred to as manufacturing capital). In the
context of Impact Assessments, this also includes the
is involved in) are measured for 75%. Coverage tangible assets of intermediate and finished products.
Natural Capital
All stocks of natural assets, accounting for their quality
and overall scarcity. It contains living (biotic) and non-
living (abiotic) natural resources including scarce
resources, climate, and ecosystems that provide benefits
to current and future generations (‘ecosystem services’).
ÅÅ Retail and SME clients ÅÅ Full-time and part-time employees ÅÅ Shareholders ÅÅ Suppliers and external
ÅÅ Commercial, Corporate and ÅÅ Sub-contractors ÅÅ Bondholders consultants
Institutional Banking clients ÅÅ Other business partners
ÅÅ Private banking clients ÅÅ Local communities
ÅÅ Public sector clients ÅÅ Governments and regulators
ÅÅ Brokers, intermediaries and other ÅÅ NGOs
distributors
Stakeholders who receive products Stakeholders who are full-time and Shareholders and bondholders of All other stakeholders. This
or services from ABN AMRO. part-time employees, as well as ABN AMRO that provide financial includes direct and indirect
Note that deposit holders who have Sub-contractors of ABN AMRO. capital to the organisation. They suppliers of goods, services and
a function to provide capital to They receive a salary or wage and are most directly affected by the capital, including external
ABN AMRO, are also clients as their other benefits from the company financial results of the organisation. consultants; business partners;
deposit account reflects a service and constitute much of the Human local communities; governments
provided by ABN AMRO. Capital. and regulators; other (non-
governmental) organisations; the
organisations upstream and
downstream ABN AMRO’s business
clients; and all others who are
affected by ABN AMRO or its value
chain – including the entire global
community in case of ‘natural
capital’ impacts. Note that this
stakeholder group also includes
clients, employees and investors
of other organisations than
ABN AMRO.
Client
of Client
Suppliers
Corporate End
of Goods and
Client Client
Services
ABN AMRO BANK
Suppliers Consumer
of Capital End Client
Own operations Upstream value chain Direct clients Downstream value streams (beyond direct clients
A simplified overview of the value chains of ABN AMRO, and the business activities that different impacts can relate to.
The value chain does not explicitly take into account (and does not attribute impact to) governments, regulators, NGOs, media
or any other actors that impact the value chain but are not a direct or indirect supplier or client, though they can influence
the value chain.
Impact scope
The impact groups in scope for the Impact assessment The following potentially material impacts have not been
are presented in Appendix II to this document. assessed, mainly due to limited data availability:
contribution to money creation, contribution to financial
The impacts to be included in the scope were assessed system (in)stability, financial crimes and fraud in the value
based on both internal input (from ABN AMRO) and chain, detection of suspicious transactions and tax
external input. The internal input included materiality evasion, and forced labour and other rights violations
matrices of ABN AMRO, existing impact studies from in the value chain. Similarly, the consumer and producer
ABN AMRO, and internal expert input. The external input surplus of a number of activities have been placed out
included materiality matrices from other banks, direct of scope and for some impacts the scope of sub-effects
existing impact studies from other organisations, and is limited to where robust data is available (e.g., the scope
external expert input. A balanced selection of positive and for air and water pollution only includes pollutants
negative impacts in scope was aimed for. External costs for which there is data both on emission levels and
in the Statement are not netted, unless if they are shown for valuation).
unaggregated elsewhere.
Methodological Approach
This section describes four key elements of methodology: the properties of reference
scenarios, the approach to attribution over the value chain, the (high-level) approach
to top-down and bottom-up analysis, and the approach to valuation. The methodology
is based on the approach described in the Impact Assessment Methodology (IAM) of
Impact Institute.1
The properties of a reference scenario or employees would work at other organisations in the
Impact is defined as the difference between the outcome financial sector. Depending on whether the outcome of
of a set of activities and a counterfactual outcome of a ABN AMRO performs better or worse than the sector
reference activity. The set of activities for this Impact average, this could result in positive or negative marginal
Report are the activities that ABN AMRO performs, such impact. Including marginal impact would give a more
as providing mortgages, employing employees and paying complete picture of ABN AMRO’s impact, so excluding
suppliers. this is a limitation.
Within the scope of this Impact Assessment, a reference The approach to attribution over the value chain
is a no-alternative scenario and impact is referred to as As with all organisations, ABN AMRO creates value,
absolute impact. In a no-alternative scenario ABN AMRO together with other organisations, in its value chains.
is not active, and no alternative activities (such as A simplified representation of these value chains is given
competing banks taking over any activities of ABN AMRO) in Figure 2. ABN AMRO understands that it has
are modelled. 23
As a result, this reference helps assess responsibilities concerning the activities of its suppliers,
the impact of the activities itself rather than the clients and investments, and the impact thereof. This
comparison to how others would do those activities. follows, for instance, from closely monitoring human
As an example, the greenhouse gas emissions of rights issues at its clients and their value chains.4
ABN AMRO’s own operations are simply given by the
volume of the emissions. That is, they are compared to In an impact assessment, the idea of value chain
a reference where they are not emitted, as opposed responsibility is quantified. This naturally gives three
to a reference that would need to model how much options: full primary responsibility, full shared
other organisations would emit in a reference. responsibility, and shared responsibility with a primary
responsible. Firstly, full primary responsibility is when
So-called marginal impact is not in scope in the Impact impacts that occur in the own operations of a
Assessment. Marginal impact has the reference scenario monetisation are fully attributed to that organisation, with
where ABN AMRO’s activities are performed by direct no attribution to any of its value chain partners. Secondly,
competitors. In that case, marginal impact would show full shared responsibility is when impacts that occur in the
the difference between the outcomes of ABN AMRO’s value chain are first added together, and then distributed
operations, and those of an average competing bank. over the different value chain partners, with a distribution
For example, loans would be provided by other banks that is not sensitive to the organisation at whose own
1
IAM is described in two documents. First, IAM Core (Impact Institute, 2020a) that provides basic definitions and requirements for IP&L Assessments, and which is based on the Framework
for Impact Statements (Impact Institute, 2019). Second, the IAM Supplement ‘Impact Contribution’ (Impact Institute, 2020b) describes a way to practically apply the principles in IAM Core
regarding reference scenarios and attribution of impacts over the value chain.
2
Without ABN AMRO being present, the activity of suppliers to ABN AMRO decreases as ABN AMRO is no longer active as a buyer. The reduction of its activity is assumed to be
proportional to the share they supply to ABN AMRO. Similarly, the activity of business clients of ABN AMRO decreases. This is modelled by the share that ABN AMRO’s input contributes
to its sales.
3
The activity of providing mortgages and deposit services deserve special attention to prevent unrealistically large well-being effects being part of the Impact assessment. In line with the
general properties of the no-alternative reference, mortgage holders are assumed not to have a mortgage in the alternative. This results to most of them not being able to buy a house.
However, they are not assumed to be homeless, but rather have access to a rental home. Similarly for deposit services, account holders do not have access to the accounts and as a result,
cannot make digital transactions. However, instead of not being able to make any transactions, they are assumed to be able to make cash transactions.
4
ABN AMRO, (2019a).
5
Note that in all approaches ‘impact is conserved’, i.e., there are no instances where the same impact is attributed to two organisations simultaneously or where the totality of the impact is
not accounted for. Alternative positions, such as where an organisation accounts both for all of its own impact as well as a share of the impact of its partners, may lead to double counting.
operations the impacts originally occurred. Thirdly, shared creates an impact, it is included mostly in their own
responsibility with a primary responsible is a combination impact statements, but a share less than 50% shows
of the two options above. Part of the impact is re-attributed up in ABN AMRO’s impact statement. See the end
over the value chain, but not all of it. This recognises of this section for a simple example of how this is
that organisations in the value chain have a form of calculated.
responsibility for each other’s impact, but that they always
have more responsibility for their own impact.5 Examples of externalities modelled in this way are
occupational health and safety incidents, financial
Based on this, three categories of impact can be identified: distress due to difficulties to repay loans and
contribution to climate change.2
ÅÅ Mainly internalities. In the impact assessment of
ABN AMRO, full primary responsibility is used for ÅÅ Externalities without a primary responsibility.
internal impacts. These reflect effects that are reflected For externalities for which it is not feasible to identify
in the prices of transactions ABN AMRO is involved in, a primary responsible, full shared responsibility can be
and that typically only affect directly involved applied, and the impacts are re-attributed fully over the
stakeholders. There is no re-attribution over the value value chain. This type of impact has not been identified
chain. Examples of this include the salaries paid to in ABN AMRO’s Impact Assessment.
employees, opportunity cost of capital, and payments
of clients for ABN AMRO’s services.1 For all externalities, it is possible to either identify
ABN AMRO as primary responsible (and they are
ÅÅ Externalities with a primary responsibility. attributed a majority of the impact) or a value chain
For (positive and negative) external impacts, shared partner as primary responsibility (and ABN AMRO
responsibility is acknowledged, but the attribution also is attributed a minority of the impact).3
takes into account that there is a primary responsible.
This is the third position above, and it is modelled by The share of impact that is attributed to ABN AMRO
taking the direct average of full primary responsibility versus their value chain partners (for the part of impact
and full shared responsibility – that is, the organisation that is attributed over the value chain at all) is modelled
that creates the impact in the first place, is assigned based on how much of ABN AMRO’s revenue is part of its
50% of the impact directly, and the other 50% is added value versus paid to its suppliers of goods, services
shared over the full value chain. and capital. This uses the Consolidated Income Statement
for the year 2019.
In this way, ABN AMRO’s Impact Assessment contain
elements of impact from its value chain partners (and For every unit of impact per Euro of revenue or expense,
the Impact Assessment of ABN AMRO’s value chain ABN AMRO is attributed 44% of the value chain impact.
partners contain elements of ABN AMRO’s impact), but This follows from the table below, as the share of the
it is also ensured that the largest share of impact is (upstream) value chain payments that are associated with
always attributed to the organisation that creates it in ABN AMRO’s added value as opposed to suppliers (value
the first place. If ABN AMRO creates an impact, it is chain partners).4
included in their own impact statement for more than
50% (and for a smaller share to the impact statements
of their value chain partners) and if a value chain partner
1
In IAM (Impact Institute, 2020), this corresponds to impacts of category I.
2
In IAM (Impact Institute, 2020), this corresponds to impacts of category II.
3
In IAM (Impact Institute, 2020), this corresponds to impacts of category III.
4
The method presented focusses on the attribution between ABN AMRO and its upstream value chain partners. This is complete for value chains where ABN AMRO delivers the final service
to consumer end clients (B2C services). For business-to-business services, a complete model should also contain attribution to organisations downstream of ABN AMRO. In this Impact Report,
this additional analysis has only been performed in one situation: the one where mortgage activities from ABN AMRO lead to indirect stimulation of the construction sector. In line with the
general attribution principles, 50% of associated impact is attributed to the construction companies that create the impact in the first place. To attribute the second 50%, it is used that 32%
of a homeowner’s monthly living costs are interest payments for the mortgage (EUR 453 of an estimated EUR 1,417). As a result, the attribution to ABN AMRO is 50% × 32% × 44% = 7%.
Revenue
Personnel expenses 2,247 Assumed to mostly reflect payments to employees and the
government; supplier payments (e.g., for lease cars) are not
explicitly subtracted.
Impairment charges on financial instruments 657
Income tax expense 634 Although the government crucially supports the functioning
of ABN AMRO, tax payments to the government are assumed
not to be a supplier of ABN AMRO
Profit for the year 2,046
Total 5,584
Share of revenue 44%
1
Alternatively, this can be calculated from ABN AMRO keeping 72% (=50% + half of the 44%) of its own 100 units, and getting 22% (half of the 44%) of the 150 units in the remainder of the
value chain. In this way, ABN AMRO again gets 105 units (72 from own operations and 33 units from the value chain).
Methodological approach bottom-up and page 10, ‘External Data’. The GID contains the average
top-down analysis impact per euro economic activity of 26 sectors in 189
Bottom-up and top-down are methodological approaches countries3, and monetises each of the impacts to make
to assessing impacts. Which approach is used is them directly comparable when expressed in euro (or
determined by the data available and the nature euro-equivalent) per euro.4
of the impacts.
Downstream value chain impacts are first calculated per
Bottom-up analysis entails impact measurement using one unit of added value in a country-sector combination.
specific, company level data. Impacts that have been This is based on the organisation’s direct impact and its
assessed through bottom-up analysis use the impact upstream and downstream value chains. The GID provides
pathway logic. multipliers for value chain impacts. For example, the
interest income on a loan represents the added value of
The bottom-up model assesses impacts in natural units ABN AMRO in that value chain, together with its direct
based on primary data of ABN AMRO, characterisation and indirect suppliers. This is a measure of its contribution
factors of Impact Institute and secondary data. In most to that value chain.
instances, the primary data of ABN AMRO needs to be
transformed using either characterisation factors of Impact An assessment of the size of the impact to be attributed
Institute or secondary data, or a combination of both in to ABN AMRO and its direct and indirect suppliers follows
order to get to a quantified impact in natural units. from multiplication of added value with the value chain
impact multipliers. To isolate the share of ABN AMRO,
Next, the impacts in natural units are valued using the attribution factor is used.
monetisation factors from Impact Institute for well-being
impacts and monetisation factors for basic rights impacts A similar approach is followed for ABN AMRO’s
from the Global Impact Database.1 investments, and upstream value chains.
It can also be the case that the primary data of Valuation approach
ABN AMRO is already in the natural unit that the Valuation is defined as the process of using a welfare
monetisation factor calls for. In that case, the primary data dimension to express the normative desirability of impacts
are directly monetised using monetisation factors from in quantitative units. In the Impact Assessment of
Impact Institute for well-being impacts and monetisation ABN AMRO, this unit is a monetary one. A euro value
factors from GID for basic rights impacts. (or euro-equivalent value) expresses what an impact
is worth to a stakeholder.
Top-down analysis entails impact measurement that
(also) uses more generic data points that are reflective Consistent use of the same unit for all impacts has the
of the generic properties of an economic sector. Given benefit that all impacts become comparable: a euro value
that ABN AMRO’s business client portfolio and supplier for the Contribution to climate change impact can be
portfolio are large and diverse, it was not feasible to build compared to the euro value of the Income tax payments
bottom-up models for all value chain impacts. Instead, impact. Furthermore, impacts can be added, at least in
they are analysed with a top-down analysis that uses principle. A limitation of this valuation approach is that not
representative averages for sectors and countries. all stakeholders will value one euro the same: to a
relatively poor person, one euro may provide more welfare
In the Impact Assessment, top-down analyses are based than to a richer person or organisation.
on data provided by the Impact Institute’s Global impact
Database (GID).2 The GID has its basis in input-output There are two types of welfare dimensions: well-being
analysis and combines several input-output databases and the respect of basic rights. Both have their own
and their environmental and social extensions, see also valuation approach.
1
GID version 2.3.
2
GID version 2.3.
3
The initial ABN AMRO data was mapped to the SBI classification. This was then mapped first to the ISIC and then to the EORA sector classifications.
4
For a good general introduction to environmentally extended input-output analysis see Kitzes, (2013).
Impacts that are naturally expressed The preference of people is derived In stated preference techniques, In the subjective well-being approach,
in monetary terms, need not be from their choices, using either people are asked about their people are asked about their
monetised. empirical data to derive a proxy for the preferences and their willingness to subjective well-being (such as their
value of a particular product or choice. pay or willingness to accept for non- satisfaction with their health or life)
A limitation is that this does not This can be done by inferring market ‘goods’ or ‘bads’. and the reported measures are
explicitly take into account that one preferences from market choices, associated with variables that can
Euro can represent more well-being using hedonic pricing to infer explain this well-being using (large)
for one stakeholder than for the other. preferences, analysing natural population datasets and statistical
experiments or conducting field techniques.
experiments or incentivised laboratory
experiments.
Impacts corresponding to the well-being dimension approach to assess the costs to society of these impacts.
are valued using an assessment of the gains or losses Remediation costs are an umbrella term for the costs of
in well-being for the stakeholders involved. Some impacts actions that need to happen to mitigate the effects as
can be valued very simply (1-on-1 monetisation), others much as possible. This restores damage where that is
must be valued with the monetisation techniques possible and aims to compensate affected people and
‘Revealed Preference’, ‘Stated Preference’ and ‘Subjective communities for residual damage. Additionally,
Well-being’ (see Figure 3). remediation includes measures to prevent re-occurrence
of the breaches of rights, and punitive elements that
Impacts corresponding to the basic rights occur when reflect the element of injustice.
certain rights are breached. Examples are the right to
a decent standard of living (the impact Underpayment) This is in line with the approach described in the
and several environmental rights (the Natural Capital Principles for True Pricing.1
impacts). These are monetised using a remediation
1
True Price, (2020a).
Input Data
The Impact Assessment uses data from ABN AMRO on the data. First, a check for relevancy is done to
(primary data), Impact Institute data and secondary data. establish whether the received data matches the data
These three types of data are defined in Figure 4 below. request. Second, a ‘sanity check’ was performed on the
The following sections give more insight in the process content of the provided data points. This includes checking
of data collection and the management of the three whether the order of magnitude of the data points makes
input data types. sense in relation to other received values and those of
secondary data. If either of these checks failed or if any
Primary data process data points are missing or clarification required, further
Primary data is requested from data suppliers at communication is made with the data supplier.
ABN AMRO. Once received, two checks were performed
Annual financial reporting data External cost monetisation database Conversion factors
Data from ABN AMRO’s Annual Financial Reporting. Data with monetisation factors for rights-breaches Exchange rates, inflation rates and conversion
impacts. factors for units of measurement.
Portfolio data
Data concerning ABN AMRO’s portfolios for lending
(Commercial Banking and Corporate & Institutional
Banking), financial investments and assets-under-
management (equity and bonds), as well as
concerning ABN AMRO’s suppliers.
Some of the received data sets require a standardisation External Data – Impact Institute
step in which categories used by ABN AMRO are translated
to be used further. For example, the commercial banking Well-being characterisation and
lending portfolio is mapped first from SBI (Standaard monetisation factors
Bedrijfsindeling) sector classification to the ISIC sector Well-being characterisation and monetisation factors of
classification and finally to the Eora sector classification. Impact Institute are used to value non-financial well-being
If such a mapping had to be made, the resulting mapping impacts. Hierarchy rules for data quality apply, as described
table is validated by ABN AMRO. on page 12. Regarding well-being characterisation factors,
sources that provide revealed preference factors are
preferred for impacts for which good empirical market
data is available, whereas factors derived with the
subjective well-being approach are preferred if this is not breaches dimension (external costs). It is based on
the case. Stated preference factors are usually recognised the Principles for True Pricing1. A subset of this database
as being less reliable. (monetisation factors for global averages for 2020)
is published open source by True Price2.
External cost monetisation database
A database with monetisation factors for external costs is The table below provides a sample of underlying
used. It provides monetisation factors for Social, Human data sources that have been used to construct the
and Natural Capital impacts belonging to the right monetisation factors for well-being and external costs.
Kuik et. al. (2009). Marginal abatement A meta-analysis of recent studies into the costs of greenhouse gas mitigation policies that aim at the long-
costs of greenhouse gas emissions: term stabilisation of these gases in the atmosphere.
a meta-analysis
CE Delft Environmental Prices (2017) A handbook that shows environmental prices, or indices expressing the social cost of environmental
emissions and other interventions in euros per kilo pollutant. Environmental prices indicate the willingness-
to-pay for accept pollution and other unwanted impacts.
Dolan & Fujiwara (2012). Valuing adult A study on the wellbeing effects of adult learning. As an important side-result, the paper derives a valuation
learning: comparing wellbeing valuation function for a well-being scale. In the Impact Assessment, this is used together with Fujiwara (2013) under
to contingent valuation the assumption that it can be used in other well-being contexts as well.
OECD (2012). The value of a statistical life: A meta-analysis of valuation studies concerning the value of statistical life, the estimation of willingness to
a meta-analysis pay and analysis in the variability in the value of statistical life.
Fujiwara (2013). A general method for valuing The paper presents an approach to valuation of subjective wellbeing and as a result derives an estimate
non-market goods using wellbeing data: of welfare change and value. As an example, the values associated with unemployment are derived using
three-stage wellbeing valuation the approach. In the Impact Assessment, the results are used together with Dolan & Fujiwara (2012) and
assumed to hold for other contexts of well-being.
Global Impact Database methodology. These are provided in monetary and non-
The Global Impact Database (GID) by Impact Institute monetary units.
contains information regarding the economic impact and
selected externalities for 26 sectors in 189 countries. The GID calculates value chain impact considering the
The GID makes use of global input-output (IO) databases direct and indirect impact of primary economic activity
such as EORA and Exiobase, environmental and socio- in a given country and sector by including suppliers and
economic extension of IO databases, and public sources customers to that sector. To do so, the GID considers
such as Wageindicator, ILOStat, and OECD statistics. trade flows between sectors. Tracing these trade flows
These data sources are considered reputable and are also can provide information on impacts at all ‘orders’. Here,
used by other international organisations. Additionally, data first order impacts reflect those in the sector under
has been validated, outliers have been corrected for and consideration, second order impacts are considered as
missing data have been estimated. the impacts of the direct suppliers and customers of
these actors, third order impacts as suppliers and
The GID produces quantitative estimates of the direct and customers of the second order, etc. The GID uses an
value chain impact of creating added value in a specific algorithm based on the work of i.a. W. Leontief to
sector and country on 20 indicators for 5 of the 6 Capitals approximate the input on all orders.3
(Intellectual Capital is out of scope) following the IP&L
1
True Price, (2020a).
2
True Price, (2020b).
3
See Leontief (1936) for the original source and Kitzes (2013) for a good introduction to (environmentally extended) input-output analysis.
Non-validated
Preferred
2 1 Most preferred
Validated
official statistics
4 3
single studies
and sources
Least preferred Less preferred
Different scope
European Social Survey 6 (2012), ‘ESS6 The European Social Survey is a bi-annual survey conducted across various European countries. It covers a
ed.2.3’; Survey 7 (2014), ‘ESS7 ed.2.1’; variety of topics including subjective wellbeing and Justice and Fairness.
Survey 9 (2018), ‘ESS9 ed.1.1’. European
Social Survey 9 (2018), ‘ESS9 ed.1.1’.
Verbooy et al. (2018), ‘Time Is Money: A study investigating the willingness to pay for leisure time among employees in the Netherlands.
Investigating the Value of Leisure Time
and Unpaid Work’.
BrandDirectory (2019), ‘Netherlands 50 2018 An annually updated list and analysis of the top 50 brands in the Netherlands. It calculates the changes in
Ranking’. brand value across the years.
Zumbro (2014), ‘The Relationship Between A regression analysis of the relationship between the combination of homeownership and various other
Homeownership and Life Satisfaction social factors and wellbeing. The study using a sampling of people from across Germany.
in Germany’.
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) National statistics office of The Netherlands
(2019).
The World Bank (2019). A collection of conversion and inflation rates across the years.
National Institute for Family Finance A collection of statistics on concerning the financial situations of families internationally.
Information (NIBUD) (2019).
Modelling Approach
The activities of the bank are mapped and categorised, table that shows an overview of impact by stakeholder
according to the categorisation shown in Figure 6. Impacts group and capital type, a sum of impact groups is taken.
are calculated as described below for the different types These are presented in the following six ranges for both
of business activities and aggregated to impact groups positive and negative sums: 0-50 million euro, 50-100
that contain one or more calculated impacts. Impact million euro, 100-500 million euro, 500-1,000 million euro,
groups always belong to a single Capital. To arrive at the 1,000-5,000 million euro, and 5,000-10,000 million euro.
Figure 6: The four types of activities modelled in the Impact Assessment, reflecting the value chain scope of Figure 2
Supplier
of Client
Client
Suppliers of Client
Corporate End
of Goods and
Client Client
Services
ABN AMRO BANK
Suppliers Consumer
of Capital End Client
Own operations
A large share of the impacts related to ABN AMRO’s and the impact’s valence is based on whether it is
own operations are financial (e.g., Employee payments), a positive or negative impact for the corresponding
or already expressed in financial terms (e.g., depreciation stakeholder.
and investments in fixed assets). These are related
to line items in the Consolidated Income Statement, Impacts related to own operations that are not already
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and financial, or expressed in financial terms, include Human
the Cash Flow Statement. The modelling approach for capital creation, Well-being effects of employment and
these impacts is to assess all line items, link each of these Contribution to climate change from emissions in own
line items to the relevant impacts and identify the operations. These are modelled bottom-up, based on the
corresponding affected stakeholder. The absolute size of impact pathway logic (see also ‘Methodological approach
these impacts is simply equal to their line item amount, bottom-up and top-down analysis’ on page 8).
Direct impacts for consumer clients Consequently, the supplier contribution per country and
Consumer clients pay ABN AMRO for the services offered sector is multiplied with the GID monetised impact factors
by the bank, such as taking out a mortgage or holding a per euro of supply that are country and sector specific and
deposit. The payment for these services alone is reflected summed. This yields the total monetised impact.
as a negative Financial Capital impact for the clients.
Conversely, the value of ABN AMRO’s services for its Downstream value chain impacts
consumer clients is split into two parts. First, the ‘internal’ The downstream value chain impacts of ABN AMRO are
part is equal in size to the client’s payment (otherwise, assessed in much the same way as the upstream ones.
the clients would simply opt out of the service). Second,
the ‘external’ part reflects any surplus positive impact Note that the scope of the analysis includes the full value
on top of this, modelled bottom-up (as discussed in chain of ABN AMRO’s Business-to-business (B2B) clients.
‘Methodological approach bottom-up and top-down Specifically for (other) suppliers of their B2B clients, banks
analysis’ on page 8). can be seen as suppliers of a service supplementary to
the clients own goods and services. When the banks
Upstream value chain impacts provide more (and more valuable) services to their mutual
ABN AMRO’s upstream value chain impacts include those clients, the other suppliers of that client, in turn, also have
related to conventional suppliers and suppliers of capital. increased activity (as opposed to decreased activity for
Using primary data from ABN AMRO and secondary data, provision of complementary goods or services). As a
the expenses to supplier (including interest expenses) result, banks are considered to have co-responsibility for
and the sector and country of the supplier are determined. (positive and negative) impacts in the full value chain
The impacts are modelled with a top-down model. To do of their B2B clients, including both upstream and
this, the sector-classifications used by ABN AMRO are downstream.
mapped to the sector-classification used by the GID.
Key Assumptions
Impact measurement and valuation is still a young science regarding the operations of the organisation in scope
and our methodology continues to evolve. In addition, and its value chain partners. This section aims to provide
some measurements are limited by data availability. a comprehensive list of the assumptions that are
Because of this, developing the methodology for these deemed to have affected the outcomes of the Impact
measurements requires making a number of assumptions Assessment most critically.
Scope and Methodology The organisational activities in scope The organisational activities not in ABN AMRO is a bank that engages in
provide a representative view of the scope are not assessed explicitly. a large variety of activities. An Impact
impact of ABN AMRO. Assessment need not be complete,
as long as majority of the activities are
assessed. The Impact Assessment
assesses 95% of activities for
internal impacts and 75% for external
impacts, containing impacts among all
stakeholders and all Capitals, including
both negative and positive impacts.
Scope and Methodology In impact measurements, the no- Marginal impact, that is impact with The no-alternative reference shows
alternative reference is used. All respect to the direct-alternative the actual contribution of ABN AMRO
impacts are of the absolute impact reference, is not assessed explicitly. instead of a hypothetical comparison
type. to a situation where other banks are
more active.
Scope and Methodology ABN AMRO is seen as co-responsible Without acknowledgement of co- Co-responsibility of businesses on
for the impact made by its direct and responsibility for value chain activities, the impacts of their value chains is
indirect suppliers and by its business many impacts in the impact report acknowledged in the Guiding principles
clients (e.g., through lending), in would not be in scope. on Business and Human Rights1
the latter case including impacts in and the Guidelines for Multinational
its full value chain (upstream and Enterprises2. Indeed, ABN AMRO
downstream of clients). makes conscious choices in deciding
to which corporate actors the bank
lends, based on not only financial, but
also impact considerations.3
Scope and Methodology Mainly internal effects are attributed With a different acknowledgement For externalities, a form of value
100% to ABN AMRO; externalities are of co-responsibility for value chain chain responsibility applies, but the
attributed 50% to the organisation activities, values in the Impact organisation during whose own
where they take place at in the first Assessment are different. operations the impacts occur have
place, and 50% re-attributed over the a higher responsibility than other
value chain. organisations in the value chain.
Scope and Methodology For re-attribution of impact over In value chains where ABN AMRO Organisations that have a large share
the value chain, added value is used has low (high) added value, but a of added value typically have more
to assess the relative responsibility strong (weak) co-responsibility for the influence in the value chains they
of ABN AMRO in its value chains. impacts of its value chain partners, participate in.
the impact attributed to ABN AMRO
is underestimated (overestimated).
Scope and Methodology Re-attribution over the value chain The degree to which governmentents Businesses create most value in
is conducted over businesses with and other organisations contribute to value chains, while other parties
their share of added value in the value value chains, is not explicitly taken are indirectly involved.
chain, not including governements and into account.
other indirect stakeholders.
1
OHCHR, (2011).
2
OECD, (2011).
3
ABN AMRO, (2019a)
Scope and Methodology A limited number of different In value chains where the actual The current approach intends to
attribution factors are used, even share of added value of ABN AMRO find a balance between technical
though ABN AMRO is active in many is higher (lower) than reflected by the correctness of a more complex model
different value chains and in principle simplified attribution factor, the impact with multiple attribution factors, and
in each value chain, the attribution to to ABN AMRO is underestimated a simpler and more transparent model
ABN AMRO might be different. (overestimated). with only a single attribution factor.
Scope and Methodology On average, the value of goods and If clients are not rational and/or enter People and businesses that make
services to the receiver is at least a transaction not sufficiently free, rational choices do not choose to
equal to the corresponding payments, the value of the transaction to them buy or supply products and services
and at most equal to the corresponding might be lower than what they pay for. if they do not believe they benefit
payments for a supplier. Similarly, if a supplier is forced, the from the transactions in free markets.
value of the goods or services they ABN AMRO functions under Dutch
deliver might be higher than what they law, that protects clients and suppliers
are paid for. These effects are not against participating in non-free or
accounted for. non-informed transactions
Scope and Methodology Where top-down models are used, If partners perform differently than ABN AMRO has a large supplier base
ABN AMRO’s (direct and indirect) the average value for their country and provides services to many clients.
value chain partners are represented and sector, that effect is not taken While each of them is likely to differ
by the average value for their country into account. from the average of their country and
and economic sector. sector, the collective deviation is likely
to be much smaller.
Scope and Methodology To assess impact, we use a best- Modelling errors are most likely Impact measurement and valuation
estimate valuation. Where there is to reduce positive impacts and is still a developing field. Better
uncertainty over models, our general increase negative impacts; accidental assessments will be possible over time.
approach is to select the more cancellation of uncorrelated errors is A conservative approach prevents
conservative option. This means that more unlikely current reports from providing an
choices are made such that positive overly positive view of the Impact
impacts are at their minimum and Assessment of ABN AMRO.
negative impacts at their maximum.
Data When possible, primary data specific Where direct data from ABN AMRO The selected approach uses primary
to ABN AMRO is used in the Impact was not available, the replacement data where possible, but takes a
Assessment. In the absence of primary data could be a source of error. pragmatic approach where this is not
data, data based on average values the case, rather than placing large
in the Netherlands was used, thereby parts of the analysis out of scope.
assuming that ABN AMRO performs
similarly to other banks or parties in
the financial services industry. This
choice was made on a case by case
basis and depends on the specific
use of the data points involved.
Data In top-down models, the mapping to Where sector mappings are On portfolio level there is less
countries and economic sectors as incomplete, this is a source of uncertainty than for a single asset,
in GID is based on available data. For uncertainty. given that uncorrelated errors are
assets-under-management, this is data unlikely to add. Year end data is
on exposures at the end of the year. expected to represent holding during
the year with acceptable uncertainty.
Data To assess impact, we use a best- Errors related to data selection Impact measurement and valuation
estimate valuation. Where there is are most likely to reduce positive is still a developing field. Better
uncertainty over data, our general impacts and increase negative assessments, including more complete
approach is to select the more impacts; accidental cancellation of and tailored data collection, will be
conservative option. This means that uncorrelated errors is more unlikely. possible over time. A conservative
choices are made such that positive approach prevents that current reports
impacts are at their minimum and provide an overly positive view of the
negative impacts at their maximum. Impact Assessment of ABN AMRO.
Valuation Monetisation factors are assumed Where monetisation factors are not Impact measurement and valuation is
to be sufficiently complete and robust complete and/or robust (e.g., when still a developing field. Monetisation
to provide a representative picture. damage cost is underestimated), this is factors are taken from reviewed
not included in the analysis. sources, but are still expected
to increase in completeness and
robustness.
Valuation Well-being can be valued in monetary Various philosophical arguments exist Expressing well-being in monetary
terms. why one cannot or should not express terms enables impact measurement
well-being in monetary terms. and valuation. Well-being is not
equated to money, but monetary terms
are used as a numeraire.
Valuation In the valuation step, monetised values Well-being effects related to the issue Exact levels of well-being are
were assumed to represent constant that one euro may represent more difficult to quantify. Monetisation
well-being. That is, the effect that one well-being to one stakeholder than to expresses all impacts in an identical
euro may represent more well-being to another, are not in scope. and objective unit, such that for the
one stakeholder than to another was average stakeholder, their monetary
not explicitly assessed. gains or losses properly reflect their
change in well-being.
Valuation The well-being effect of a financial Well-being effects above or below By the definition of euro-equivalency,
euro is exactly one euro-equivalent. one euro-equivalent are not explicitly one euro-equivalent of general
included. well-being is on average equal to the
euro-equivalent well-being generated
by one financial euro.
Valuation To assess impact, we use a best- Errors related to valuation choices Impact measurement and valuation
estimate valuation. Where there is are most likely to reduce positive is still a developing field. Better
uncertainty over valuation elements, impacts and increase negative assessments, including new approaches
our general approach is to select impacts; accidental cancellation of to monetisation, are possible over
the more conservative option. uncorrelated errors is more unlikely time. A conservative approach
This means that choices are made prevents that current reports provide
such that positive impacts are at their an overly positive view of the Impact
minimum and negative impacts at Assessment of ABN AMRO.
their maximum.
Appendix I
High-level approach per Capital
As discussed in the chapter ‘Methodological Approach’, the Impact Statements of
ABN AMRO are determined from either a top-down or a bottom-up analysis per impact.
This appendix describes per Capital which techniques were used. The next appendix
provides a brief overview of how each impact was modelled.
1
Note that some results might be counter intuitive. For instance, payments to employees (salaries and other employee benefits) are here listed as a positive effect, while they are a cost
on the income statement (if payments to employees can be reduced, this increases profit).
2
See e.g., Berk and DeMarzo, (2013) for a more complete discussion.
3
An example to illustrate this effect: assume a client pays €453 in interest for a mortgage, but the value of that mortgage to him or her is €652. In that case, the internal effects are €453
and the external ones are €199.
4
ABN AMRO, (2019b).
Additionally, Intellectual Capital includes two negative The single positive impact analysed is limitation of climate
externalities: Occurrence of cybercrime and Unintended change through certificates. This is directly assessed with
incidents with personal information. These are modelled a small bottom-up model. The positive and negative
with simple bottom-up models to describe the damage impacts are reported separately and not in a single
to clients. aggregated number.
Appendix II
Impact Group List
The table below summarises relevant impact groups.
The table also includes the approach and most important
limitations in modelling these impacts. For all impacts that
use data provided and reported by ABN AMRO’s, the
limitation holds that they are as complete as this data.
See the paragraph ‘Impact Scope’ for a note on impact
selection.
1 Payments by clients Payments from clients to the organisation. From the This impact group consists of the interest paid by
perspective of the client, these are negative changes businesses and consumers, fee & commission payments
of Financial Capital for them. from businesses and consumers, and other payments from
clients, as reported in ABN AMRO’s Income Statement. In
a few cases an assumption had to be made on whether an
income line item reflects payments by clients or others.
2 Payments made by other Payments from stakeholders other than clients to the This impact group consists of the payments to ABN AMRO
stakeholders organisation. From the perspective of the stakeholders, within the Income Statement from organisations that are not
these are a negative change of Financial Capital to them. considered clients, such as trading partners. In a few cases
an assumption had to be made on whether an income line
item reflects payments by clients or others.
3 Payments to suppliers Payments from the organisation to suppliers (for payments This impact group consists of the payments to suppliers, as
for expensed goods and included as expenses in the income statement). From included in the ABN AMRO financial statements. In a few
services the suppliers’ perspective, these are positive changes cases an assumption had to be made whether a certain
of Financial Capital. financial statement element reflects payments to suppliers
or to others.
4 Employee payments Payments from the organisation related to employee This impact group consists of all employee-related elements
expenses, including gross salary and a number of social in ABN AMRO’s Income Statement. The share of the impact
security and pension contributions. These are positive that reflects the stakeholder group government is estimated
changes of Financial Capital for employees (e.g., salaries) through the average salary tax rate in the Netherlands
and the government (e.g., taxes). multiplied by the gross salaries, plus a contribution
from social security payments. The remainder is to the
stakeholder group employees.
5 Income tax payments Payments from the organisation to the government related This impact group consists of payments of taxes from
to income tax obligations. These are positive changes of ABN AMRO to the government, which are taken directly
Financial Capital for the government. from the ABN AMRO Income Statement.
6 Interest payments Interest payments from the organisation to its clients, This impact group consists of the sum of interest payments
bondholders and others. These are positive changes to clients, investors, and capital suppliers, as reported in
of Financial Capital to them. ABN AMRO’s Income Statement.
7 Net profit/loss If an organisation makes a net profit over a reporting year, Net profit is a reflection of ABN AMRO‘s profits over 2019
this increases the company’s stock of Financial Capital as represented in its Income Statement.
and there is a positive change of the Capital. Part of this
might in turn be used to pay dividends to shareholders.
If the organisation makes a net loss, this reduces its stock
of Financial Capital and there is a negative change of the
Capital.
8 Corrections for non- Various non-financial Capital changes (e.g., depreciation) This impact group consists of the sum of correction for
financial profit items are recognised as income and expenses in the income depreciation and amortisation, amount invested in assets,
statement. In the Impact Assessment these changes are impairments on client debt, costs of impairment for client
recognised under their respective Capital. This group debt, and other non-financial expenses, as reported in
consists of changes to balance Financial Capital. ABN AMRO’s Income Statement.
9 Payments to suppliers Payments from the organisation to suppliers (for investments This impact group consists of the sum of the net payments
for investments that are not included as expenses in the income statement). to suppliers for investments in equipment, property, and
From the suppliers’ perspective, these are positive changes intangible assets as reported in ABN AMRO’s Cash Flow
of Financial Capital to them. Statement.
10 Cost of Capital The Cost of the capital that is provided to the organisation The opportunity cost of provided capital for the suppliers
by clients, equity holders, bond holders and others. This of capital is typically equal to or lower than the returns
represents a negative impact to the suppliers of capital. reflecting this provision of capital. Impacts in this group
are modelled using equality based on interest payments
and profit (i.e., the opportunity costs are set to be equal
to the returns).
11 Value of Capital The Value of the capital that is provided to the organisation The value of the capital that an organisation attracts, is
and to the organisation's stakeholders. This represents a typically equal to or higher than the interest rates for loans.
positive impact. For equity, this holds in the long term for profits levels.
Impacts in this group are modelled using equality based
on interest payments and profits.
12 Value of services When the organisation receives goods in some form from its The value of the financial services to the suppliers that
(financial) provided by suppliers, these represents negative changes of Financial deliver them to ABN AMRO, is equal to or smaller than the
suppliers Capital for the suppliers. corresponding payments. Impacts in this group are modelled
assuming equality. This is the sum of fees for commitment,
insurance, and investments, as reported in the ABN AMRO
Income Statement.
13 Consumer client value Value of lending services (non-mortgage) delivered The client value of services is in general equal to or larger
of lending services by the organisation, which are positive changes of than the corresponding payments. Impacts in this are
(non-mortgage) Financial Capital for consumer clients. modelled assuming equality. This is the sum of ABN AMRO’s
income from lending services to consumers, as reported in
the Income Statement.
14 Business client value of Value of lending services delivered by the organisation, The client value of services is in general equal to or larger
lending services which are positive changes of Financial Capital for than the corresponding payments. Impacts in this group are
business clients. modelled assuming equality. This is calculated as the sum of
ABN AMRO’s income from lending services to businesses,
as reported in the Income Statement.
15 Consumer client value Clients of the bank experience savings and other Financial This impact group reflects the degree that home owners
through home ownership Capital benefits from home ownership, which are positive have lower costs of housing then renters if repayments
changes of Financial Capital for them. of the mortgage are seen as a form of capital formation,
rather than a cost of housing. The impact is measured by
calculating the differences between mortgage interest
payments per household and an estimated rental expense
in the reference.1 This is multiplied by the total number of
ABN AMRO outstanding mortgages, with a correction for
the share of mortgage that has already been paid off.
16 Change in share A positive (negative) share price change – respective to This consists of one impact that is assessed through
price not captured in what can be associated with the comprehensive income – the difference between the total stock value at year end
comprehensive income represents a positive (negative) change in Financial Capital and year start to the degree that this is not reflected
for shareholders. by the change in book value. Data points uses are from
the Financial Statements. Effects on bondholders are
not assessed.
17 Other financial impacts Other changes in Financial Capital to the organisation This impact group includes amongst others other
and its stakeholders related to the operations of the comprehensive income, the value of insurance and
organisation. investment services for business and consumers,
the value of trading transactions and regulatory charges.
1
Nibud, (2019).
18 Contribution to final When the organisation engages in lending and investment This is calculated by first mapping downstream activity to
goods and services in activities, this contributes to the creation of goods and sectors and countries invested in. Downstream activity
value chain services that have value for the final users (positive includes commercial and corporate lending, assets under
impacts). management and the financial investments of ABN AMRO.
The mapping is then multiplied by the GID country-specific
(monetised) data for contribution to final goods and
services per euro investment and summed over sectors
and countries.
19 Client value through When home owners see the value of their houses increase This impact measures the average change in house value
increase in house value (decrease) during the reporting period, this reflects an in the Netherlands over 20191, with a correction for the share
increase (decrease) in Manufactured Capital. of mortgage that has already been paid off. This impact is
modelled on the assumption that a change in house value
represents an immediate increase in assets proportional to
this change.
20 Client value of money Client value of money transfers created by the bank through This impact group consists of the sum of the external and
transfers the provision of financial infrastructure in that year (positive internal value for money transfers. The internal effect is
impacts). identical to the gross fee and income ABN AMRO receives
from money transfers. The external effect measures the
additional value to consumers through well-being changes
related to these services. This impact is modelled on the
assumption that the increase in non-cash payments reduces
the direct and indirect costs of purchases with cash.
21 Client value of Client value of money storage and management created This impact group calculates the impact made from the
money storage and by the bank through the provision of financial infrastructure convenience and value of mobile banking through its increase
management in that year (positive impacts). in consumer well-being, reduction of cash use, and value
through fees paid (the internal part of the impact group is
already accounted for in client value of money transfers).
22 Client value of other Client value of other infrastructure services (such as The client value of services is in general equal to or larger
infrastructure services securities and custodians services) provided by the bank than the corresponding payments. Impacts in this group
(positive impacts) are modelled assuming equality as the sum of income for
securities and custodian services, as reported in the Income
Statement.
23 Value of infrastructure Value of infrastructure services provided by suppliers of the The value to the suppliers of the services they deliver to
services provided by bank, such as payments, securities and custodian services ABN AMRO, is equal to or smaller than the corresponding
suppliers (negative impacts). payments. Impacts in this group are modelled assuming
equality. This impact group consists of the sum of the
payments for payment, securities and custodian services,
as represented in ABN AMRO’s Income Statement.
24 Value of goods provided When the organisation receives goods in some form from its The value to the suppliers of the goods they deliver to
by suppliers suppliers, this represent negative changes of Manufactured ABN AMRO, is equal to or smaller than the corresponding
Capital for the suppliers. payments. Impacts in this group are modelled assuming
equality. This impact group consists of the value of purchased
expensed goods and purchased goods for investments,
as represented in ABN AMRO’s Income Statement.
25 Client value of housing Client value of living in a house as (co-)facilitated by This impact group measures the internal effect of housing
the bank through mortgage provision (positive impacts). value only (the external effect is taken into account in
consumer client value through home ownership). It is
identical in size to the total gross interest payments related
to residential mortgages as reported in the ABN AMRO
Income Statement.2
1
CBS (2019).
26 Gross increase in Gross increase in value during the reporting period of This impact group measures gross increase in the value of
tangible assets tangible assets such as property, plant and equipment owned property and equipment by subtracting property and
(positive impacts). equipment sold from newly acquired property as inferred
from the Income Statement and Cash Flow Statement.1
27 Depreciation of tangible Decrease in value through depreciation during the reporting This impact group consists of depreciation and impairment
assets period of tangible assets such as property, plant and on all ABN AMRO tangible assets, as it is represented in the
equipment (negative impacts). Income Statement.
28 Consumer client value of Value of asset management services for consumer clients This impact group measures both the external and internal
asset management delivered by the organisation. Represents positive changes effect on clients of asset management. The internal effect
of Intellectual Capital to clients. is identical in size to ABN AMRO’s income from asset
management. The external effect is assessed in a bottom-up
model using the willingness to pay of consumers for asset
management. It is based on an external data point reflecting
the price elasticity of demand. The accuracy is limited by the
validity and applicability of the data source.
29 Consumer client value of Value of other fee-based services for consumer clients The client value of services is in general equal to or larger
other fee-based services delivered by the organisation. Represents positive changes than the corresponding payments. Impacts in this group are
of Intellectual Capital to clients. modelled assuming equality by summing the gross fee and
commission income from services to clients other than the
above. This is done using data reported in the ABN AMRO
Income Statement.
30 Business client value of Value of other fee-based services for business clients The client value of services is in general equal to or larger
other fee-based services delivered by the organisation. Represents positive changes than the corresponding payments. Impacts in this group are
of Intellectual Capital to clients. modelled assuming equality by summing the gross fee and
income from all services to other business, including leasing
services. This is done using data reported in the ABN AMRO
Income Statement.
31 Change in intellectual Positive or negative changes in intellectual assets This impact group measures the change in value of
assets (e.g., intellectual property rights owned) of the organisation intellectual assets by taking the investment in intellectual
or its stakeholders. assets and subtracting amortisation. This is based on data
reported in the ABN AMRO Income Statement and Cash
Flow Statement.
32 Occurrence of Occurrence of cybercrime are negative impacts and This impact group is calculated based on a source that
cybercrime external costs both if they occur at the company (direct estimates the total costs of cybercrime in the deposits
impact) or in the value chain as an indirect impact. and saving market in the Netherlands. This is multiplied by
ABN AMRO’s relevant market share. An important limitation
is that the degree to which ABN AMRO diverges from the
national average, is not included.
33 Unintended incidents Occurrence of unintended incidents regarding data and This impact group takes operational costs of a data breach
with personal privacy of clients are negative impacts and external costs. as an estimate for (damage) costs of unintended incidents
information with personal information. These cost estimates are
multiplied by an estimate of possibly affected individuals,
based on data breaches that were reported to relevant
authorities during the year. For the number of possibly
affected individuals, only a range could be provided and
an average of minimal and maximal individuals is used
in the calculation.
1
Note that the name of the impact group ‘Gross increase in tangible assets’ assumes that the value of newly acquired property and equipment is larger than that of property and equipment
sold. In the situation where this is the other way around, there is a decrease of tangible assets. Note that the net change in tangible assets follows from subtracting depreciation of
tangible assets (that is always negative) from this value.
34 Well-being effects of The increase in well-being of employees caused by This impact group consists of the changes in well-being
employment employment through i.a., effects on self-esteem, autonomy, due to employment in ABN AMRO’s own operations and in
social relations, and social status (positive impacts). its value chains. For the own operations the average life-
satisfaction change caused by employment at ABN AMRO
is assessed, partly based on an external source about the
general well-being effects of employment.1 Value chain
calculations make use of GID country and sector specific
(monetised) data. This impact assumes that all employees
with the same reported job satisfaction have the same
increase in well-being through work.
35 Creation of human Increases in the expected generated value added of The creation of human capital of ABN AMRO employees is
capital employees due to an increase in productivity as a result assessed by first calculating and summing the future growth
of working at the organisation. of earnings that are enabled through this year’s training
and on-the-job learning. This is done by measuring the
promotions that employees made, and the higher salaries
involved. Higher salaries are then assumed to correlate with
higher productivity and contribution to the value creation
of other stakeholders. This impact assumes that human
capital created due to ABN AMRO will be as valuable to
future employers as it is to ABN AMRO. Additionally, Human
capital creation at employees in ABN AMRO’s value chain
is assessed through the GID’s country and sector specific
(monetised) data.
36 Value of employee time The value of the time employees spent on work, which The value of the time ABN AMRO employees spend on their
spent on work represents a negative (opportunity) cost for employees, work, is based on studies at the willingness-to-pay for free
as during the time they work they cannot do other valuable time2, corrected for the salary levels. Additionally, the value
activities. of time of employees in the value chain is assessed through
the GID’s country and sector specific (monetised) data.
This impact is similarly modelled based on a standard ratio
between willingness to pay for free time and salary.
37 Value of services Value of services purchased by the organisation, which The value to the suppliers of the services they deliver to
provided by suppliers represent (predominantly) negative changes of Human ABN AMRO, is equal to or smaller than the corresponding
Capital for the suppliers of the services. payments. Impacts in this group are modelled assuming
equality. This impact group consists of the sum of expenses
related to services, as reported in the Income Statement.
38 Occupational health and Fatal and non-fatal occupational incidents and diseases This impact groups consists of the incidents in ABN AMRO’s
safety incidents in the workplace constitute negative impacts and external own operations and value chains. Own operations
costs. This applies both to occurrences at the organisation calculations measure the average life lost due to physical
(direct impacts) and to occurrences in the value chain and mental diseases attributable to the workplace. Value
(indirect impacts). chain calculations make use of GID country and sector
specific (monetised) data. The accuracy of this impact is
limited by the quality of recording of certain health and
safety incidents, averaging many of them together in
a single category.
39 Decrease in cash- Decrease of harms from robberies and fraudulent banknotes This impact group first assesses the amount of cash-related
related crime of clients due to the provision of a digital payment crime and the resulting losses from it in the Netherlands
infrastructure (positive impacts). as a whole. Given that already a majority of payments occur
digitally, it is assumed that this trend to digital has reduced
the cash-related crime. The total damage prevented is
estimated through the ratio between cash and digital
payments. Of the total benefit, ABN AMRO is attributed a
part in line with its market share. The accuracy of the impact
is limited by the quality of the data points.
1
ESS6, (2012); ESS7, (2014); ESS9, (2018).
2
Verbooy et al., (2018).
40 Change in brand value Changes in brand value and customer loyalty represent This impact group consists of the sum of the change in
and customer loyalty changes in the Social Capital of the organisation as these calculated brand value from the previous year1 and a part
are assets that help the organisation to attract and retain related to the change in NPS score of retail and private
customers and employees. banking. In the latter, the change in NPS score is multiplied
by the number of ABN AMRO customers and an assessment
of how valuable a loyal customer is to the bank. This impact
is limited by the data quality and by the simplification that
the attraction and retention of wealthy clients is given the
same weight as that of less wealthy clients.
41 Gender discrimination in Gender discrimination refers to unequal access to highly This is calculated by first mapping upstream and
access to higher skilled skilled jobs on the basis of gender. A gender skill gap at the downstream activity to sectors and countries sourced from
jobs company in scope (direct impact) or as an indirect impact or invested in. The mapping is then multiplied by the GID
constitutes a negative impact and an external cost. country-specific (monetised) data of gender discrimination
per euro sourcing or investment and summed over sectors
and countries. This impact is limited by the fact that own
operations of ABN AMRO are not in scope.
42 Underpayment Underpayment means that employees earn less than a living This is calculated by first mapping upstream and
wage, which is required for a decent standard of living, downstream activity to sectors and countries sourced from
including as an indirect impact. This constitutes a negative or invested in. The mapping is then multiplied by the GID
impact and an external cost. country-specific (monetised) data of underpayment per
euro sourcing or investment and summed over sectors and
countries. This impact is modelled on the assumption that
it occurs primarily due to value chain members and not the
own operations of the ABN AMRO.
43 Child labour The presence of child labour (beyond the legal or This is calculated by first mapping upstream and
international limits), including as an indirect impact. This downstream activity to sectors and countries sourced
constitutes a negative impact and an external cost. from or invested in. The mapping is then multiplied by the
GID country-specific (monetised) data of child labour per
euro sourcing or investment and summed over sectors and
countries. This impact is modelled on the assumption that
it occurs primarily due to value chain members and not
the own operations of ABN AMRO.
44 Financial distress due to Stress clients experience as a result of payment difficulty In this Impact Report, the scope is limited to ABN AMRO’s
difficulties to repay loans related to loans, which is a negative impact. mortgage clients. The impact group is measured by
multiplying the decline in life satisfaction of adults that
are in financial distress with an assessment of the number
of clients that this applies to, based on ABN AMRO data
and an estimate of the number of family members that
also experience the stress. This impact is modelled on the
assumption that this financial distress is directly related
to the mortgage. There is no explicit comparison to the
financial difficulty that would occur in the reference.
45 Social benefits of home Value of increase in well-being and other social benefits The impact group is calculated by multiplying the reported
ownership related to home ownership, which is a positive impact. life-satisfaction increase due to owning a home2 to the
number of people with an outstanding ABN AMRO mortgage,
with a correction for the share of mortgage that has already
been paid off. The external data point used limits to the quality
of the result in proportion to the validity of the data source.
46 Contribution to climate The contributions to climate change through the emissions This impact group calculates and monetises carbon
change of greenhouse gasses, which negatively affect people emissions related to ABN AMRO’s own operations, its
and ecosystems. These contributions constitute negative mortgages portfolio (through the indirect stimulation of
impacts and external costs. construction) and of its value chains (including those
sectors and countries sourced from or invested in).
The calculations for the value chain make use of GID
country- and sector-specific data for those sectors and
countries sourced from or invested in. The monetary value
of the impact has a strong dependence on the monetisation
factor, the so-called carbon abatement cost.
1
BrandDirectory, (2019).
2
This is based on a regression analysis of a sample from the German population in Zumbro, (2014).
47 Use of scarce materials Use of mineral and fossil fuel resources makes them This impact group is measured by calculating and
unavailable to other users. These contributions constitute monetising the energy natural gas and electricity use
negative impacts and external costs. of ABN AMRO’s own operations, its mortgages portfolio
(through the indirect stimulation of construction) and of its
value chains (including those sectors and countries sourced
from or invested in). The calculations for the value chain
make use of GID country- and sector-specific data for those
sectors and countries sourced from or invested in. This only
includes the subset of potentially scarce materials that is
regularly reported on such as copper and bauxite; reliable
data for other materials (e.g., rare earth metals and helium)
is not available.
48 Air pollution Negative impacts on air quality (e.g. due to the emissions of Air pollution is a negative impact measuring the amount
pollutants) constitute negative impacts and external costs. of air quality degradation caused by ABN AMRO’s own
operations, value chains, and construction of mortgaged
homes. These values are calculated separately;
construction is offset against a proportional rental sector
comparison; air pollution from own operations is calculated
using emissions reported in the Non-financial data &
Engagement report. A selection of pollutants is in scope
for which data is available both on emissions and for
valuation. The calculations for the value chain make use of
GID country- and sector-specific data for those sectors and
countries sourced from or invested in.
49 Water pollution Negative impacts on water quality (e.g. due to the emissions This is calculated by first mapping upstream and
of pollutants) constitute negative impacts and external downstream activity to sectors and countries sourced
costs. from or invested in. The mapping is then multiplied by the
GID country-specific (monetised) data of water pollution
per euro sourcing or investment and summed over sectors
and countries. A selection of pollutants is in scope for
which data is available both on emissions and for valuation.
This impact is limited by the fact that own operations of
the company are not in scope.
50 Use of scarce water Use of scarce water resources makes them unavailable This is calculated by first mapping upstream and
to other users. This constitutes a negative impact and downstream activity to sectors and countries sourced from
external cost. or invested in. The mapping is then multiplied by the GID
country-specific (monetised) data on use of scarce water
per euro sourcing or investment and summed over sectors
and countries. Water use from own operations of the
company – mainly in The Netherlands where water is not
scarce – is not in scope.
51 Land use Land use looks at the impact of historical land This is calculated by first mapping upstream and
transformation from an original state with high Natural downstream activity to sectors and countries sourced from
Capital value to a state with lower value. This constitutes or invested in. The mapping is then multiplied by the GID
negative impacts and external costs. country-specific (monetised) data on land use per euro
sourcing or investment and summed over sectors and
countries. Land use from own operations of the company
is not in scope.
52 Limitation of climate The reduction of external greenhouse gas emissions This impact group measures the amount of harmful
change through (i.e., for which the organisation is not responsible for in emissions offset through the purchase of green certificates.
certificates the first place) through buying certificates. This limits It is calculated by summing and monetising the amount of
climate change and is a positive impact. certificates purchased by ABN AMRO, as reported in the
Non-financial data & Engagement report.
References
ABN AMRO (2019a), Human Rights Report 2018, J. Kitzes (2013), An introduction to Environmentally-
available at: extended Input-Output Analysis, Resources 2013, 2,
abnamro.com/en/images/Documents/035_Social_ 489-503
Newsroom/Press_Releases/2019/ABN_AMRO_Human_
Rights_Report_2018.pdf W. Leontief, Quantitative input-output relations in the
economic system of the United States
ABN AMRO (2019b), Impact Report 2018, available at: Rev. Econ. Stat. 1936, 18, 105–125
abnamro.com/en/images/Documents/010_About_ABN_
AMRO/Annual_Report/2018/ABN_AMRO_Impact_ National Institute for Family Finance Information
Report_2018.pdf (NIBUD) (2019)
Berk and DeMarzo (2013), Corporate Finance Third Edition True Price
ÅÅ (2020a) Principles for True Pricing
BrandDirectory (2019), ‘Netherlands 50 2018 Ranking’ ÅÅ (2020b) Monetisation factors for true pricing
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) (2019) Verbooy et al. (2018), ‘Time Is Money: Investigating
the Value of Leisure Time and Unpaid Work’
European Social Survey 6 (2012), ‘ESS6 ed.2.3’
Zumbro (2014), ‘The Relationship Between
European Social Survey 7 (2014), ‘ESS7 ed.2.1’ Homeownership and Life Satisfaction in Germany’
Impact Institute
ÅÅ (2019) ‘Framework for Impact Statements Beta’ (FIS)
ÅÅ (2020a). ‘Integrated Profit & Loss Assessment
Methodology Core’ (IAM Core)
ÅÅ (2020b) ‘Integrated Profit & Loss Assessment
Methodology Supplement Impact Contribution’
(IAM Supplement Impact Contribution)
ÅÅ (2020c) ‘GID Methodology Document’