Better Health for All

Nordea Bank Abp's core business is financial services, which are generally health-neutral. Therefore, its principal goods and services have no significant positive or negative health impact, and it generates no revenue from products with direct health impacts. The company's products do not have direct safety implications for physical or mental health, nor do they carry health risks requiring disclosure. Nordea does not offer health-related products or services, engage in health-related R&D, or have a business model involving serving vulnerable populations with health needs.

Its operations do not directly intersect with preventative health, treatment activities, or health crisis response. The company does not collect or manage health-related data, hold healthcare-related patents, produce food products, or engage in health education or clinical trials. While Nordea offers employee benefits including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support (Talkspace, Headspace), and Nordea-fonden (a foundation with a shareholding in the bank) supports health-related projects, these are not considered direct impacts of the bank's core business on the general public's health outcomes, as per the value definition's exclusion of workplace standards and foundation activities not directly tied to the company's core offerings.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Nordea Bank has demonstrated a strong commitment to financial literacy, with volunteers supporting over 216,000 children and young people in 2023, and providing more than 1,000,000 opportunities for financial skill-building since 2016.

The company also launched a financial health check feature in its app to help customers improve their financial well-being. For product simplicity, Nordea offers a children's app for ages 7 to 15 that includes over 40 quizzes and lessons on spending, goals, and interest, and is ad-free with no license fee for Nordea customers. Customers can also transfer money from other banks directly to their Nordea account without needing the other bank's app. However, the company is piloting self-service onboarding for investment accounts in Norway to simplify the investment journey, which suggests that some products may still require simplification efforts.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In 2024, the CEO to all employees pay ratio was 45.7.

In 2023, 84.8% of employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Pay differences between women and men in similar positions were 2.08% in men's favor in 2023, resulting in a pay equity ratio of 0.9792. The employee engagement score (People Pulse) was 79 in 2024. The voluntary employee turnover rate was 6.1% in 2023. In 2023, 12 discrimination and harassment cases were reported.

Honest & Fair Business

Nordea Bank Abp received a $35 million civil fine from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) on August 27, 2024, for inadequacies in its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program during 2008-2019.

The company has a 'Raise Your Concern' (RYC) whistleblowing process, allowing all stakeholders, including employees, to report suspected misconduct anonymously and feel safe doing so. Nordea has an Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) program and policy, with a stated zero-risk appetite towards bribery and corruption. All employees are required to undergo annual mandatory ABC training, and gift cards over EUR 100 are prohibited. However, the New York state financial services superintendent cited inadequate due diligence over customers and high-risk banking partners, and shortcomings in anti-money laundering procedures, indicating that third-party due diligence was insufficient.

Kind to Animals

Nordea, as a financial institution, does not have direct operations involving animal testing, animal agriculture, or manufacturing products with animal-derived ingredients, leading to N/A scores for several KPIs. For animal agriculture ethics, 100% of Nordea's sustainable agriculture assets provide for basic animal welfare standards, but information on banning mutilation and end-of-life ethics is unavailable.

Nordea and Swedbank oppose keeping animals in severely restricted housing, but no specific percentage of cage-free sourcing is provided. Nordea expects companies involved in livestock products to have ethical standards for animal welfare and follow relevant regulations, and to include compliance clauses in contracts with subcontractors and suppliers, but no specific audit percentage is given. Nordea's policy states that non-medical animal testing is unacceptable. Nordea Asset Management expects companies in its portfolio involved in forest-risk commodities to commit to eliminating deforestation and biodiversity loss from their operations and supply chains, but no measurable impact metrics are provided. Nordea is involved in sector initiatives addressing sustainability in factory farming, mainly focusing on climate change, biodiversity, and antimicrobial resistance, but not specifically animal welfare.

Planet-Friendly Business

Nordea's total CO2e emissions from internal operations were 23,932,784 tCO2e, representing a 29% reduction from the 2019 baseline.

The company has set sector-specific emissions targets aligned with science-based pathways, but there is no explicit evidence that Nordea's own targets are SBTi-validated. Nordea has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 across investment portfolios and internal operations. The Green Investment Ratio (GIR) is 2.8% based on Capex EU Taxonomy and Green Asset Ratio. Nordea has onboarded Iceberg Data Lab as a biodiversity data provider and 18% of total engagements focused on biodiversity-related topics in 2024. The company does not invest in palm oil producers lacking RSPO certification or with less than 50% RSPO certification, and requires soy used in sustainable aquaculture to be deforestation-free and ProTerra certified. Nordea has adopted TCFD recommendations, including climate scenario analysis, and publishes a qualitative discussion of transitional risks for climate-affected assets. Nordea aims to ensure 90% of exposure to large corporate customers in climate-vulnerable sectors is covered by transition plans by the end of 2025.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Nordea has no reported cultural appropriation incidents.

The company's human rights due diligence and governance are recognized by the BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark for significant improvements in policies, processes, reporting, and practices.

Safe & Smart Tech

Nordea has implemented a robust AI governance framework and developed new protocols for AI lifecycle management, indicating a formal AI ethics policy with oversight.

The company conducts regular audits to identify potential biases in its AI models. Nordea uses techniques like model interpretability and feature attribution to ensure AI systems are transparent and explainable. No documented incidents of unauthorized data use have been found. Nordea's privacy policy update mentions customer consent and data deletion rights, but the article also states that invites to fraud awareness seminars were pushed through the mobile banking app, which implies some level of data use without explicit user control over that specific communication. Nordea has implemented applicable sanctions rules introduced by the EU, US, and UK, and its AI governance framework helps balance compliance requirements, including a reference to GDPR. The company's proactive approach to algorithmic harm has helped avoid regulatory fines and reputational damage. Nordea monitors the regulatory landscape and is involved in consultations and advocacy towards regulators.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Nordea implemented a 'Paperless Banking Program digitalization' which resulted in a 60% reduction between 2015 and 2020.

The company's factories have a certified ISO 14001-compliant environmental management system. Nordea has also set company-wide waste reduction targets, aiming to reduce waste to landfill at production sites. Additionally, Nordea requires all new suppliers to sign a Supplier Code of Conduct and targets 50% of current suppliers to have signed it by 2025, with 80% of suppliers assessed with a sustainability rating by 2030. No evidence of waste disposal violations was found.