The Executive Board said it “wanted to open a dialogue” with the groups. “We assume the petition will be presented to us at some point. That strikes us as a logical moment to see what we can achieve in this together.” At the time of writing, the petition had been signed by 85 people. The message has also found support from Maastricht professors Harro van Lente, Tsjalling Swierstra and Pim Martens.
Be open about it
Their colleague Rob Bauer (School of Business and Economics), who has been working on sustainable financing for years, is delighted by the petition. “It forces the Executive Board to explicitly state why we bank with ING, and maybe examine those reasons.” Which does not necessarily have to result in a change of bank: “A university has to have a good bank. Of course, you can move to [green banks such as] ASN or Triodos. But can they provide the same level of service for your organisation? Or do you need a bigger bank? Those are the sort of considerations that the Executive Board should be open about.” Something which, according to Bauer, has been missing up to now.
Talking to ING about financing oil and gas extraction is good, he said. But if you really want to make a difference, “then more universities have to join in, maybe even the whole government”. As far as the bank is concerned, UM is merely one minor customer, threatening to take your business elsewhere would have no effect, said Bauer. However, UM isn’t entirely powerless. Banks are sensitive to reputational damage, he said. If UM is openly critical of ING, as it has been about pension fund ABP, “that might be enough to cause a ripple effect, leading other parties to also raise their concerns, and increase the pressure.”
Under fire
ING has been under fire from climate activists regarding investments in fossil fuels for a while. Last year, climate organisation Milieudefensie sued the bank, stating that it was using its money to thwart efforts to counter the climate crisis. ING said it was in fact trying to help large organisation finance their transition to sustainable energy sources.