Northern Trust's Path Forward

Originally published in Northern Trust's 2022 Sustainability Report

At Northern Trust, our approach to sustainability is grounded in our enduring principles of service, expertise and integrity.

These principles have guided us in our ability to sustain the organization for nearly 135 years, and will continue to anchor us during the current uncertain macroeconomic and dynamically evolving environment. Our path forward, with respect to sustainability, is paved by consistently and relentlessly (1) developing awareness, (2) creating alignment and (3) balancing actions to not only solve today's challenges, but to innovate and secure a future for all people, the planet and our collective prosperity in accordance with our key stakeholders’ expectations.

Developing awareness begins with knowledge and understanding of the sustainability matters that are most significant to Northern Trust’s long-term value proposition. To that end, we conducted a materiality assessment in 2022. We partnered with a third party to help us understand post-pandemic shifts relative to environmental, social and governance issues from our stakeholders' perspectives with context from the competitive landscape and regard for the needs of the communities in which we work and live. The roadmap that resulted from the assessment sets the stage for the development of detailed implementation plans to address the top priorities over the next two to three years. Our expertise is further fueled by education through involvement with leading sustainability frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), participation in industry groups, such as the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) and continuous engagement with stakeholders through business activities and our stewardship efforts.

Creating alignment around strategy and best practices is paramount as regulations emerge and intensify. Alignment through governance allows us to properly plan to mitigate risks and maximize opportunities for value creation for all of our stakeholders. Over the last year, we have continued to evolve governance structures and roles to effectively monitor and manage material sustainability matters. For this purpose, we revitalized our Enterprise Sustainability Council (ESC), which assembles senior leaders across geographies and functions to foster collaboration, mobilize and steer execution for the firm through its working groups. We also named our first chief sustainability officer, who is responsible for helping the organization, through ESC, build capabilities and embed best practices to develop business and sustainability goals and aspirations. Our principle of integrity enables the transparency, governance and alignment needed to achieve our goals and aspirations.

Last, but not least, balancing actions that impact a globally diverse and complex universe of stakeholders is essential to fulfilling our corporate purpose of creating better financial futures that advance the world. While our stakeholders' expectations and demands vary by topic and timing, it is our responsibility to navigate the ambiguity in a way that honors our commitment to people, the planet and prosperity for current and future generations. From our efforts to bolster inclusion in the workplace, to our philanthropic and social impact portfolios, and our human rights advocacy through our Modern Slavery Act Program, we continue to make positive contributions where social issues persist and are significant to Northern Trust. Likewise, with increasing climate events around the world, we are actively managing our business operations toward net zero carbon, achieving carbon neutrality for the first time in 2022. Our balanced approach is derived from leveraging data to gain business insights and is critical to our success in client service and along our sustainability journey.

Thank you for your interest in our journey, and for reading our 2022 Sustainability Report.

Kim Evans
EVP and Head of Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion and Social Impact

Mike O'Grady
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Read the full report here more.