We foster an open, safe, inclusive and stimulating working environment for our employees. We believe that this results in a highly professional and committed workforce that drives business success through strong execution. We endeavour to respect human rights in everything we do, whether it concerns our own employees or other people that may be affected by our operations and business decisions.

With operations in more than 40 countries, we want our staff to reflect the diversity of our customers. And we want to harness the collective wisdom of people from all walks of life. Our belief in inclusion extends from you to our own people: we are an open and accepting employer and we do not tolerate discrimination. We invest in diversity programmes that are endorsed by senior executives, including our CEO.

ING recognises that diversity is more than hiring people of various race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical abilities and personal philosophies. It is about creating an inclusive corporate culture – one that welcomes, acknowledges, respects, challenges and benefits from our differences.

ING tries to create an inclusive workplace by challenging mindsets and encouraging more awareness, openness and acceptance of differences. This understanding contributes to our performance culture, collective wisdom in business decision making and ultimately helps us to better connect with our current and potential customers.

• ING Global Diversity Brochure

Every human being has rights. They include the right to education, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and the right to join a trade union. These rights apply to all of us and have been set forth in declarations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

ING upholds the rights proclaimed in the UDHR and we aim to respect human rights in all our global operations. This includes the rights of our employees and the rights of the people who are affected by our operations.

We respect our employees and want to be a good employer. We provide a healthy and safe workplace where discrimination and unfair treatment are not tolerated. We promote the personal and professional growth of our employees by providing excellent primary and secondary benefits and development opportunities. This creates an environment in which our people can not only do well but also do good.

We have decided against doing business in countries in which human rights violations are generally believed to be widespread, such as Burma/Myanmar and Sudan. ING will not finance any activities in these countries other than humanitarian aid activities.

These are just a few examples. We have expanded on our vision on human rights in a set of practical guidelines which state how we deal with financing activities in sensitive sectors such as mining, oil, gas, agriculture and forestry.