ING Goes Green
Dannum Valley
ING supports the rehabilitation of 300 hectares tropical rainforest that has been severely damaged by felling in the past to compensate our CO2 emissions. The forest is located in Danum Valley in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo. The rehabilitation of the damaged rainforest does not only compensate ING’s CO2 emissions, it also provides habitat for a vast array of endangered species, such as flying squirrels, giant hornbills and colourchanging lizards.
Employee Awareness Campaigns
The Global ING Plant a Tree Campaign was launched in Malaysia by Michel Tilmant. As the ING carbon compensation programme is built around the Danum Valley project in Malaysia, the ING office in Kuala Lumpur was a logical place for this kick-off. During this event all employees received a t-shirt, filled out a questionnaire with general questions on their environmental interests and they all received a small tree. As Michel Tilmant was in Kuala Lumpur that day, he was able to officially open the event by planting a tree in front of the office.
Green buildings
ING's sustainability efforts took a further step forward for its real estate division as ING Tower, its insurance headquarters in Korea, became the first existing (as opposed to newly built) building in the country to receive certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Existing Building (LEED-EB), following the completion of physical renovations and improved operating practices earlier this year.
As a result, it is expected ING Tower will achieve 20-35% in energy savings and up to 350 tonnes in reduced carbon output i.e. the equivalent of 3,300 passenger cars making a round-trip journey from Seoul to Busan. Non-recyclable waste and natural gas usage are expected to fall by 73% and 60% respectively. The savings help ING maintain its status as one of the only financial services companies that are carbon-neutral.
Brian Ahn, Head of ING Real Estate Investment Management (ING REIM) Korea, stated: “There is a growing trend among many American and European companies showing a preference for offices located in environmentally-friendly buildings despite higher costs. That we are the first building in Korea to receive LEED-EB certification will help ING REIM Korea assume a leading role in environmentally-friendly building management in the industry.”