Institute for Social Banking

Berlin,                        Amsterdam,
Germany.                  The Netherlands.

The Institute for Social Banking is an education and research institute for socially responsible banking and finance. Since it was founded in 2006, it has grown into an active membership organisation, comprising 17 institutions linked closely to socially responsible banking and finance and a large international network. The Institute offers Education, Network, and Research for a responsible banking and finance sector, promoting concepts of finance and banking that specifically orients itself towards the development of both people and the planet.

EDUCATION: The ISB is engaged in developing and implementing its own unique training formats in socially responsible banking and finance to be offered to individuals and organisations. Our educational concepts and methods aim to develop competencies for interdisciplinary approaches and forward thinking that support participants to act in a reflective way in decision-making processes in the context of societal challenges. The development of the changemaker capacities at the forefront of the financial sector is at the heart of our offer.

RESEARCH: The research activities of the ISB are building on the practitioners’ knowledge that lives in our member base. We foster research that examines both practical problems and best practices of socially oriented banks. Together with our members and partner institutions, we keep an overview of relevant publications (both academic and other). We take a position as a knowledge broker, offering the gained insights to our member base. The research also ensures a high standard in our training activities.

NETWORK: In the last decade, ISB has built an international community of practitioners, academics, researchers, lecturers, associates, senior advisors, partners, and interested people around the topic of socially responsible banking and finance. We see ourselves as eco-system builders, aiming at facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices to allow for change and development in the field of sustainable finance.

The main goals of the Institute are:

• Fostering awareness, commitment, and constructive reflection amongst (social) bankers,
• Increasing knowledge, competencies, and skills in Social Banking,
• Bringing forward the ideas, inspiration & spirit of Social Banking,
• Supporting forefront thinking and innovative action – encouraging development initiatives in the field of Social Banking.