As a child, Ramya Swaminathan experienced first-hand the consequences of an unstable electrical grid: in India and the Philippines (where she grew up), power outages at the school were constant. Now, named in 2020 one of Business Insider’s list of 21 Rising Stars in clean energy, in addition to advising public agencies dedicated to the electric grid in the United States, Swaminathan advices Malta Inc., a startup that spun out from Google X that could be key for achieving a stable electrical network powered by 100% renewable energy.

The expansion of renewable energy has made it increasingly less surprising to encounter a field of solar panels or find windmills among the mountains. The biggest challenge currently facing fossil fuel-free electrical systems is developing large-scale storage infrastructure so that renewable plants do not depend on the weather’s arbitrary behavior.

Nearly a decade has passed since the signing of the historic Paris Agreement; a binding treaty that brought 195 countries together with a common goal: to slow the progression of climate change. The signatories committed to take the necessary steps to keep the Earth’s global temperature below 1.5˚C compared to pre-industrial levels. To this end, cutting CO2 emissions by approximately 45% from 2019 emission levels by 2030 was considered necessary as a preliminary step toward reaching net zero by 2050. One of the most significant challenges humanity has ever faced.

BBVA and research provider BloombergNEF (BNEF) will work together to enhance and strengthen BBVA’s energy transition knowledge and expertise in clean technologies. The announcement was made during an event held in Madrid where the agreement and its objectives were presented.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) recently recognized Garanti BBVA’s efforts in sustainable development by including the bank in its global ‘A’ List of its Climate Change and Water Security Programs.

BBVA is set to channel €700 billion in sustainable business between 2025 to 2029, more than double the previous target of €300 billion set for the 2018–2025 period, which it reached in December 2024, one year ahead of schedule. This new, more ambitious objective will also run for a shorter period (five years as opposed to eight).

At a meeting with Turkish media, CEO Mahmut Akten shared Garanti BBVA’s strategies and 2025 goals, while assessing the state of the global and Türkiye’s economies and the banking sector. Akten acknowledged ongoing global economic uncertainty but expressed optimism, citing Türkiye’s macroeconomic program and a balancing trend in the banking sector.  The event, held at the Pendik Technology Campus, also included a visit to Garanti BBVA’s TIER IV-certified Data Center.

The announcement by Ursula von der Leyen on November 8th regarding the Omnibus initiative caught more than one person off guard and is still causing quite a stir. On this day, the re-elected President of the European Commission indicated her intention to present an initiative in 2025 to “reduce bureaucracy and the regulatory burden” related to sustainability. She specifically made reference to three regulations: the Taxonomy Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

The bank has reached 35.4 percent women in managerial positions, exceeding the target of 35 percent by 2024. Initiatives such as the global program ‘Yo soy talento feminino’ (I am female talent), is helping to boost the development of women with greater potential.

The BBVA Foundation is once again sponsoring the Salt Artistic Research and Production Grant Program, now in its 2025 edition. This initiative aims to create a dynamic platform for artistic research and production, supporting artists from Türkiye who explore contemporary social issues through interdisciplinary approaches.