Sustainability
Today
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Philippa Perry trained as a psychotherapist and has been working in the field of mental health for over 20 years. In 2010, she published a graphic novel, Couch Fiction, which depicts the process of psychotherapy.
08 Mar 2024
Commitment
BBVA makes headway toward its decarbonization targets in key industries and cuts its emissions by 24 percent in the oil and gas sector
BBVA closed 2023 reporting good progress in decarbonizing its credit portfolio. Improvements in plan delivery reached 24 percent in key sectors —such as oil and gas— for which 2030 targets were set. As of December 2023, 80% of the finance portfolio in high-emission sectors relates to clients actively managing their transition, according to the latest TCFD report published by the bank.
06 Mar 2024
Climate change
Garanti BBVA launches a series of documentaries addressing the effects of climate change
SALT, Garanti BBVA’s cultural organization, is presenting ‘Is this Our Last Chance?’, a series of documentaries on the effects of climate change. It will be running at the walk-in cinema in SALT’s Beyoğlu facilities and can also be watched online at saltonline.org between February 29 and March 24.
01 Mar 2024
Innovation
3rd BBVA Sustainability Forum: Private investment in clean technologies will boost the global sustainable agenda
New clean technologies, or 'cleantech,' will play a key role in the decarbonization of the economy. To make this possible, however, the private sector must make a firm commitment to the sustainable agenda, leading to decisive, long-term investment in firms that develop clean technologies. These were the points emphasized by speakers at the 3rd BBVA Sustainability Forum, which the bank held in the auditorium of Ciudad BBVA, Madrid, Spain, with a livestream feed. 'Opportunity' was a key word in almost every speech.
29 Feb 2024
BBVA widens its sustainable business with a global finance unit that will focus on cleantech innovation, announced BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila at the 3rd BBVA Sustainability Forum, held Thursday at the bank's headquarters in Madrid. The specialized team, based in New York, London and Madrid, will offer lending and advisory services.
23 Feb 2024
The financial institution had 34.7 percent women in leadership positions in 2023, with promotions of women surpassing those of men in all countries where the bank has a presence. BBVA has announced a new target for the next two years, aiming to reach 36.8 percent female managers.
Video
BBVA Sustainability Projects
Javier Rodríguez Soler: “There are already some decarbonization technologies that work and are profitable”
“By definition, companies need to push profits. The good news is that there are already some technologies that work and are profitable”, remarks Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA. In a recent interview with Brendan Wallace, CEO of Fifth Wall, Rodríguez Soler explains BBVA’s commitment to investing in companies that research and develop sustainable technologies that champion the decarbonization of the economy.
22 Feb 2024
Entrepreneurship & Startups
BBVA co-hosts the largest European conference on entrepreneurship and climate venture capital in Bilbao
The bank is sponsoring the fifth edition of the Energy Tech Summit, which will be held in Bilbao for the first time on April 10th and 11th, 2024.
15 Feb 2024
Garanti BBVA CEO Recep Baştuğ has secured the top spot among finance executives and seventh place overall in the latest annual "Türkiye’s Sustainability Leaders" ranking, published by the Turkish franchise of leading business magazine Fast Company.
07 Feb 2024
BBVA has been recognized yet another year in the latest edition of S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook. BBVA is among the top 5 percent of the world’s most sustainable banks, according to this ranking published today. The yearbook distinguishes leading sustainability companies in 62 sectors.
06 Feb 2024
Climate Action
Sustainable cooling without halocarbons, or how to help billions of people adapt to the coming heat
COP28 has ended and following intense debates and difficult consensus, we have seen considerable progress in the development of sustainable cooling. Refrigeration is not only necessary for the life of numerous households - it is essential for sectors such as food, logistics, digital technology and tourism.
02 Feb 2024
Cleantech for Iberia brings together cleantech companies, investors and policy makers to boost the potential of Spain and Portugal as a clean energy hub in the European Union.
01 Feb 2024
Commitment
BBVA sets an annual record in sustainable business, with €70 billion in 2023 (+39 percent)
BBVA set a record annual figure for sustainable business in 2023: €70 billion, up 39 percent on the figure reported in 2022, as sustainability now permeates all segments and because the bank serves a wide range of industries.
Header image generated with Midjourney (AI)
24 Jan 2024
Sustainable cities and communities
Garanti BBVA hosts its fourth 'Sustainable Future in Exports' meeting in Bursa, Türkiye
As part of its strategic commitment to sustainability and inclusive growth, Garanti BBVA continues to host its series of events around the theme 'Sustainable Future in Exports.' The fourth installment of the series—previously held in Istanbul, Gaziantep, and İzmir—unfolded this year in Bursa.
16 Jan 2024
Carbon Footprint
Carlos Torres Vila at Davos: “We need to involve the end consumer in the energy transition”
BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila today advocated for "involving the end consumer in the energy transition" in order to step up decarbonization. Speaking on a panel at the Davos meeting hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), he called for "coherent and consistent policies" that go beyond the supply side to encourage consumers themselves to contribute to this transition.
12 Jan 2024
Action and Investment ODS Plan
BID Invest and BBVA to finance the expansion of the Port of Montevideo
The two institutions will provide finance to boost the country's foreign trade through an expansion of the facilities at Uruguay's premier port. The total outlay comes to $340 million.
26 Dec 2023
The grants went to the children of micro-entrepreneur clients of Bancamía from all over the country, who will now be able to study at university thanks to the resilience, discipline, creativity and strength shown by their parents.
21 Dec 2023
Economy
BBVA Mexico and Nestlé form partnership to promote the transition to sustainability for up to 1,500 agribusiness suppliers
This is the first agribusiness deal where one of the signatories refers its own suppliers to the bank as candidate borrowers.
Conservation of biodiversity
BBVA and energy firm Isagen agree to link 368 billion pesos in borrowings to sustainability targets
BBVA in Colombia has reached an agreement with Isagen to convert long-term finance of 368 billion pesos to sustainable loans linked to compliance with an environmental indicator. The index measures carbon emissions intensity in relation to energy generation as part of a pledge made by the power generation company to help preserve a more sustainable world.
Climate Action
BBVA unveils its interim emission reduction targets for the aviation and shipping sectors
BBVA is extending its interim emission reduction targets for 2030 to two relevant sectors, aviation and shipping, in order to move its client portfolio toward net zero emissions by 2050. These two sectors join the oil and gas, power generation, automotive, steel, cement, and coal sectors, whose emission reduction targets were published by BBVA in 2021 and 2022.
20 Dec 2023
Antoni Ballabriga
Global Head of Responsible Business at BBVA
13 Dec 2023
Garanti BBVA is in the process of installing solar panels on buildings at its Pendik Campus, on the Güneşli Service Building and on top of the bank’s ATMs. The solar energy project is part of Garanti BBVA’s commitment to fight the climate crisis and support renewable energy.
12 Dec 2023
For the third consecutive year, BBVA in Peru is the only Peruvian bank listed onn the 2023 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, according to the results of the annual performance assessment of companies with the best sustainability scores.
09 Dec 2023
Sustainability
BBVA named Europe's most sustainable bank for the fourth year in a row in the 2023 Dow Jones Sustainability Index
For the fourth consecutive year, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)¹ awarded BBVA the best score in the European banking category. The DJSI, which released its new annual breakdown on December 8, 2023, is the world's leading sustainability index. A total of 27 banks from around the world won a place in this year’s ranking.
01 Dec 2023
Producing hydrogen from renewable energy is a key challenge on the path to decarbonization and asset managers such as Hy24 are confident that this technology will reach maturity within the decade. BBVA has invested ten million in one of Hy24’s funds, which uses its capital to finance large-scale clean hydrogen infrastructure projects. Notably, it is the world’s largest clean hydrogen fund.
30 Nov 2023
Diversity
Four out of ten Spanish companies have an open and welcoming work environment for LGBT+ people
LGBT+ diversity is already the third-highest priority in corporate projects, behind only gender equality and inclusion of people with disabilities. Half of major Spanish companies have LGBT+ diversity programs. This figure drops to 34% in the case of IBEX 35-listed companies. These are some of the findings of the first major survey that looks at business management of LGBT+ diversity in Spain, promoted by BBVA, REDI and UN Global Compact Spain.
28 Nov 2023
NGO Aflatoun International presented the Teachers Academy Foundation (ÖRAV) the ‘Teacher Professional Development’ award for its social and financial leadership program ‘5 Pebbles,’ a project supported by Garanti BBVA. The awards ceremony took place at the 6th Global Social and Financial Skills Conference, in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
27 Nov 2023
Corporate information
Luisa Gómez Bravo (BBVA): "Sustainability has become a regular part of our dialogue with our clients"
The energy transition affects all industrial and distribution processes. However, the sustainability-related challenges faced by companies also translate into business opportunities and competitive gains, according to Luisa Gómez Bravo, Global Head of Finance at the BBVA Group. "BBVA wants to help companies that are moving steadily towards energy transition in their business models," she said during her speech at the Spain Capital Markets hosted by Bloomberg on November 23. "Sustainability has become a regular part of our dialogue with our clients.”
Economy
BBVA supports social development projects in Colombia worth 2.4 billion pesos through August
BBVA in Colombia granted 3.8 billion pesos in sustainable lending between January and August 2023, with $2.4 billion going to inclusive growth projects and $1.4 billion for climate action pursuits. These figures are already up on last year’s total figure and 66% higher than in August 2022.
As part of its efforts to further increase financing for renewable energy projects, Garanti BBVA recently announced an agreement to provide €36.1 million in financing to Galatya Energy Production Inc. for the Işıklar Wind Power Plant.