The NIBC Say Yes campaign, started in 2013, presents a way for the company to show their positive attitude and their desire to attract flexible entrepreneurial customers who specialize in areas like agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and commercial real estate. Founded in 1945, the company began as a way to help new businesses rebuild the Netherlands after World War II. Now they aim to support businesses all over the world, not only financially, but also via corporate responsibility and sustainability.
With a supervisory board including Sally Rocker, Dr. W.M. van den Goorbergh, and many others, NIBC focuses on “a forward-thinking, can-do attitude” that includes providing residential mortgages and online savings deposits in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. Customers receive advice from a hand-picked, cross-disciplined team specially created to address that customer’s issues and concerns. These customers include corporations, financial institutions, investors, financial sponsors, family officers, and entrepreneurs.
But NIBC doesn’t stop there. The Say Yes campaign includes a dedication to sustainability in NIBC’s own business and in the clients they choose to work with. Commercials on TV, radio, and online focus on how NIBC makes decisions with the environment in mind. The NIBC Code of Conduct sets a framework for mindful business choices that rely on social and environmental responsibility. According to the Code:
“At NIBC, we recognize that we operate in a complex world, where climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and population growth create significant sustainability challenges and unprecedented pressures on natural and human systems. The increasing demand for—and scarcity of—resources may lead and has led to conflicts [and] political and economic stability.”
Consequently, clients are chosen and advised with their environmental impact in mind. NIBC follows human rights guidelines as well as avoiding businesses that use unsustainable products (like asbestos, pesticides, and PCBs) or animal testing. The NIBC Sustainability Policy goes into great detail about what the company looks for in its partners and what areas it avoids in the hopes of promoting more green businesses.
The concept of corporate responsibility and supporting environmentally-sustainable business is quickly gaining traction in the business world. NIBC is just one example of a company taking these ideas to heart.