GRI Index

This year the first steps have been taken towards reporting in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative standard, GRI Core, which helps companies and institutions report information on sustainability in a transparent manner. The information presented in the GRI Index is valid for 2018 and refers to the main operations of Arion Bank.

The coverage of sustainability, the summary of non-financial information and the materiality in the GRI Index take into account the criteria specified by Nasdaq in the Nordic and Baltic region concerning the reporting of non-financial information and the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact. When selecting material for inclusion, an analysis as made of what material could be published this year and the information published does not give a complete picture of the Bank's impact on society, the environment or the economy. The focus this year was on factors describing Bank’s activities, their social impact, human resources and environmental impact.

In 2019 we will seek to report more non-financial factors in the Bank’s activities.

Material on sustainability and non-financial information in the annual report has not been reviewed by a third party. A summary of non-financial information for 2018 was prepared in collaboration with the Icelandic innovation company Klappir Green Solutions. Klappir specializes in consultancy and web and business solutions relating to sustainability. Such input from third parties enhances the reliability and quality of the material presented in the report.

Financial information has been audited and affirmed by Deloitte.

Organizational profile
102-1	Name of the organization	Arion Bank
102-2	Activities, brands, products, and services	About Arion Bank
102-3	Location of headquarters	Borgartún 19, 105 Reykjavík
102-4	Location of operations	Branches
102-5	Ownership and legal form	Shares and shareholders
102-6	Markets served	About Arion Bank
102-7	Scale of the organization	Non-financial information: Society Human resources Financial statements
102-8	Information on employees and other workers	Non-financial information: Society Human resources
102-9	Supply chain	Suppliers
102-10	Significant changes to the organization and its supply chain	Highlights of the year
102-11	Precautionary Principle or approach	Pillar 3 Risk Disclosures
102-12	External initiatives	Responsible banking: Commitments and certifications
102-13	Membership of associations	Responsible banking: Commitments and certifications The Bank is also a member of SA Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise, the Icelandic Financial Services Association, and the Iceland Chamber of Commerce.
Strategy
102-14	Statement from senior decision-maker	Chairman's address and CEO's address
Ethics and integrity
102-16	Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior	Strategy and vision Code of ethics
Strategy
102-18	Governance structure	Governance: Board of Directors and committees The journey
102-20	Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, and social topics	The journey
102-22	Composition of the highest governance body and its committees	Governance: Board of Directors and committees
102-23	Chair of the highest governance body	The chairman is not a member of the executive management
102-24	Nominating and selecting the highest governance body	Rules of Procedures for the Nomination Committee
102-25	Conflicts of interest	Information on measures to prevent conflicts of interest can be found in the board's rules of procedure. A list of related parties exists at the Bank but has not been published. Information on the main shareholders can be seen here.
102-26	Role of highest governance body in setting purpose, values, and strategy	Rules of Procedures for the Board of Directors
102-32	Highest governance body’s role in sustainability reporting	CEO
102-33	Communicating critical concerns	Rules of Procedures for the Board of Directors
Stakeholders and freedom of association
102-40	List of stakeholder groups	Responsible banking: Sustainability policy
102-41	Collective bargaining agreements	100%
102-42	Identifying and selecting stakeholders	The journey
102-43	Approach to stakeholder engagement	Stakeholders
102-44	Key topics and concerns raised	Stakeholders
Subject of report
102-45	Entities included in the consolidated financial statements	Annual Financial Statement
102-46	Defining report content and topic boundaries	GRI Index
102-47	List of material topics	GRI Index
102-48	Restatements of information	Not applicable
102-49	Changes in reporting	Not applicable
102-50	Reporting period	2018 unless otherwise specified
102-51	Date of most recent report	Not applicable
102-52	Reporting cycle	Annually
102-53	Contact point for questions regarding the report	Arion Bank - Corporate Communications, samskiptasvid@arionbanki.is
102-54	Claims of reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards	This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option
102-55	GRI content index	The reference table contains text and links to the applicable material.
102-56	External assurance	Material on sustainability and non-financial information in the annual report has not been reviewed by a third party. A summary of non-financial information for 2018 was prepared in collaboration with the Icelandic innovation company Klappir Green Solutions. Such input from third parties enhances the reliability and quality of the material presented in the report. Financial information has been audited and affirmed by Deloitte.
Economic
Economic performance
201-1	Direct economic value generated and distributed	Financial statements
201-3	Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans	Under collective wage agreements, employees pay 4% of salaries into a co-insurance pension fund and Arion Bank pays an additional 6%. The Bank pays 2% of an employee's total salary into a private pension fund for the first three years of employment and 7% after that.
201-4	Financial aid received from government	Arion Bank received no financial aid from the authorities in 2018
Indirect economic impacts
203-1	Infrastructure investments and services supported	Creative economy Corporate banking Information technology
203-2	Significant indirect economic impacts	Creative economy Corporate banking Information technology
Procurement practices
204-1	Proportion of spending on local suppliers	Suppliers
Environment
Energy
302-1	Energy consumption within the organization	Non-financial information: Environment Non-financial information: Methodology for environmental accounting
302-3	Energy intensity	Non-financial information: Environment
Emissions
305-1	Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions	Non-financial information: Environment Non-financial information: Methodology for environmental accounting
305-2	Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions	Non-financial information: Environment Non-financial information: Methodology for environmental accounting
305-3	Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions	Non-financial information: Environment Non-financial information: Methodology for environmental accounting
305-4	GHG emissions intensity	Non-financial information: Environment
Effluents and waste
306-2	Waste by type and disposal method	Non-financial information: Environment
Environmental compliance
307-1	Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations	No violations or fines
Society
Employment
401-1	New employee hires and employee turnover	Non-financial information: Society


401-3	Parental leave	Information on the total number of employees entitled to parental leave and who took leave, specified by gender, can be seen here. Information on the total number of people who returned to work and were still at the Bank 12 months later is not available.
401-3	Parental leave
Occupational health and safety
403-3	Occupational health services	Human resources
403-6	Promotion of worker health	Human resources
Training and education
404-1	Average hours of training per year per employee	Non-financial information: Society Human resources
404-1	Average hours of training per year per employee	Non-financial information: Society Human resources
404-2	Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs	Arion Bank seeks to ensure people leave the Bank on the best possible terms and the Bank’s procedures aim to provide various levels of support to employees when they leave. Human resources
404-3	Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews	All employees of Arion Bank receive regular feedback. See section on stakeholders.
Diversity and equal opportunity
405-1	Diversity of governance bodies and employees	Non-financial information: Society Human resources
405-2	Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men	Information on equal pay certification of Arion Bank can be seen here. Human resources
Non-discrimination
406-1	Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken	Three cases were examined in 2018 relating to bullying, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and violence. The relevant processes were used to resolve the issues.
Local community
413-2	Operations with significant actual and potential negative impacts on local communities	Stakksberg
Public policy
415-1	Political contributions	No contributions were made to political activities in 2018
Marketing and labeling
417-2	Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service information and labeling	There no incidents of public warnings or fines relating to goods or services.
417-3	Incidents of non-compliance concerning marketing communications	There were no incidents of violations of the law or regulations on marketing of the Bank.
Customer privacy
418-1	Substantiated complaints concerning breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data	Data protection
Socioeconomic compliance 2016 GRI
419-1	Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area	Arion Bank operates in compliance with the law and regulations and in 2018 the Bank was not in violation of the law or regulations.