For Swedbank, taking responsibility for its impact on the environment and alleviating it in a systematic manner is a high priority. Since 1996, the group has applied an environmental policy in its Swedish operations and in 2003, Swedbank became (and remains) the first and only listed bank in the Nordic region to be environmentally certified in accordance with ISO 14001. In 2008, efforts are underway to establish a group-wide environmental policy, meaning including for Swedbank’s operations outside Sweden, notably in the Baltic States.