Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited is part of the International Standard Bank Group and has had a presence on the Isle of Man since 1992. Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited is committed to driving change. One of our strategic drivers is ‘SEE’, which encompasses three areas to make a positive Social, Economic and Environment impact: Education and Skills, Environmental Sustainability, and Enterprise Development. Underpinning this are five ‘Action Groups’, run by employees dedicated to Wellness, Eco-initiatives, Diversity and Inclusion, CSR Strategic Partnerships and Volunteering and Fundraising.
Although part of an African banking group, Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited strives to be a responsible corporate citizen of the Isle of Man. One of our local CSR partnerships is Manx Woodland Trust, supporting the maintenance, protection and expansion of Manx forests, along with educating our community. In 2020 we supported local charity initiatives including funding ‘Live at Home’ charity calls to elderly community members during lockdown and donating to Manx charities supporting the community during the impact of the Covid pandemic. We encourage our colleagues to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses and a colleague has also recently joined the IOM Governments Women in Leadership initiative.
Within the office, Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited has several measures in place to help protect the Island’s natural resources. The objective of these measures is to educate and encourage recycling, saving water and minimising energy usage where possible on a daily basis. We have recycling stations on each floor and IT equipment is sent away for specialist recycling with old office furniture donated to local charities for use or for re-sale. Energy efficient LED’s, eco water boilers and dual flush toilets have been installed across the building, and air conditioning and lights are switched off where possible overnight and at the weekends. We are also undergoing a carbon audit to put plans in place to drive our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2024.
Our SEE Action Groups have also been active, with our Eco-Initiatives Action Group running an on-going ‘Eco at Home’ campaign on our internal social channels. The campaign aims to provide colleagues with tips on how to be more environmentally aware and supportive from the comfort of their homes. More recently, the group have driven a ‘Seed Exchange’ initiative in which colleagues have exchanged and grown various seeds (e.g. sunflowers, chillies, and herbs) and have organised a trip to meet with a local bee keeper to learn about the importance of bees to our ecosystem.
All Standard Bank permanent colleagues are given two days as ‘Community Day’ leave per annum, in which they can volunteer at an Isle of Man charity of their choice. In 2020, Standard Bank was one of the main sponsors of the Isle of Man Newspapers Community Kindness show and donated funds to local charities including the Manx Solidarity Fund, the Foodbank, the Live at Home Scheme and the Hospice.
Standard Bank often base their Isle of Man social events at local heritage sites and partnered with the Manx National Heritage to drive ‘Community Day’ activities; to include building the board walk which runs from Cregneash to the Chasms. We also regularly provide tickets to colleagues to encourage them to attend and support local events such as the Christmas pantomime at the Gaiety Theatre, the Sneafell Tram dining experience, and the Groudle Glen Santa trains.
In addition to the in-house fundraising they do for their partner charities, Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited encourages their employees to undertake fundraising activities for a charity of their choice, which are often local. We also have a ‘Pound for Pound’ matching scheme for employee fundraising initiatives in which we match the amount raised by an individual/team.
