Sustainability

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Sustainability has always been an important objective at Savings & Loans and we have continued down this path during the 2008/09 year. This is the first time our Corporate Social Responsibility Report and Annual Report have been combined in one publication.

Being an organisation that responds to the needs of all stakeholders – our members, staff, business partners and the broader community – means that we’re on a continual process of review and improvement.

As mentioned throughout this report, the 2008/09 year was a difficult time for the financial services industry and, while Savings & Loans weathered the storm better than some, it has had an impact on our operations, staff and members. Being financially strong is important in our efforts to become a more sustainable business. Without running our business properly, we wouldn’t be able to serve our members, the community or the environment.

We’ve continued to focus our corporate social responsibility programs in four major areas:

• Community
  
• Environment
  
• Marketplace
  
• Workplace
  

This report will review the goals we set for ourselves in the 2008 and show how we’ve performed. If we haven’t met our original goal, we’ll explain the reasons for this and the steps we’re taking to get back on track.

Savings & Loans has invested a significant amount of time and effort into reviewing our sustainability policies and goals during the year. This period of transition meant that it’s not always possible to compare our performance with previous years.

Because we started new goals and calculations methods this year, we did not engage a stakeholder panel to review our performance. However, everyone is welcome to submit feedback through emailing us at csr@savingsloans.com.au or Savings & Loans’ blog, here&now.

Here are the highlights of our performance this year:

Community

• Receiving a score of 100% in the ‘Community Management Practice’ section of the Corporate Responsibility Index
  
• Launching our Positive Impact Grants program to provide funds for community groups and encourage volunteering
  
• Partnering with The Smith Family to launch an educational support program to provide scholarships to young carers
  
• Creating a branded credit card – the ‘Care Card’ – to raise the profile of young carers in the community

Environment

• More than 20,000 trees planted on Hindmarsh Island thanks to Savings & Loans
  
• Introduction of eStatements and online news&views to reduce paper use
• Monthly Positive Impact Days to make staff aware of environmental issues
  

Workplace

• Receiving our seventh consecutive Employer of Choice Citation from the Office of Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency
  
• Achieving a staff satisfaction result 10.5% above the industry benchmark
  
• Introduction of a new Certified Agreement offering industry-leading employment conditions
  
• Achieving a staff retention rate of 89.91%, well above the industry average of 81.16%
  

Marketplace

• Implementing a merger with Austral Credit Union
  
• Retaining a low loan write-off rate in a year of rising unemployment
  
• Expanding the rediATM network
  
• Reduction in formal complaints through process improvements
  

More detailed information can be found under the section heading for each area.

Corporate governance and sustainability

Good corporate governance and transparency are fundamental to effective corporate social responsibility. We trust that our approach to disclosure and transparency gives people confidence in Savings & Loans and our member and community focus.

We are part of a national framework for prudential regulation of Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions, which includes banks, credit unions and building societies. The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority is our principle regulator, though we are also monitored by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Tax Office.