Sustainability

BBVA’s sustainable business continues to grow, now at a faster pace than ever. The bank channeled around €97 billion into sustainable business in the first three quarters of 2025 alone, representing a 48 percent¹ increase compared with the same period of the previous year and not far off the €99 billion channeled throughout all of 2024. Notably, in the third quarter alone, it mobilized upward of €34 billion, setting a new quarterly record.

The Fundación Universidad-Empresa (FUE) has honored the financial institution for its steadfast commitment to learning, training, and the professional development of interns in Spain.

BBVA is backing the joint statement from global business leaders prior to COP30, which underscores the commercial viability of the decarbonization of the economy and the climate transition.The statement urges companies and political leaders to “scale the historic opportunity for returns, resilience and growth.” Chairs and CEOs from the World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, including BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila, signed the statement.

BBVA is the first financial institution to join Iberia’s Círculo SAF, a community dedicated to supporting the development of the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry and promoting lower emissions into the atmosphere.

BBVA has received LEED Gold certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for the sustainability of its office located at 389 9th Avenue in New York. This recognition, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), accredits the entity's commitment to energy efficiency, responsible use of resources and the creation of healthy spaces for its professionals and customers.

From January to August 2025, BBVA reached €3.1 billion in agrifood business, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Of this amount, €2.09 billion corresponded to sustainable business, with 82 percent YoY growth. BBVA announced these figures at Fruit Attraction, one of the world’s top fruit and vegetable trade fairs, held this week in Madrid.

BBVA, as a founding member (and only bank), has joined the Coalition for Sustainable Procurement, a global alliance led by the United Nations Global Compact that seeks to mainstream sustainability into procurement processes and supply chains internationally.

Clean technologies, also known as 'cleantech', are technologies that contribute to sustainability and environmental protection. This includes innovative solutions for  both climate change adaptation and mitigation, ranging from emission reduction to biodiversity protection and water treatment.

The Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate and Investment Banking at BBVA, Javier Rodríguez Soler, underscored the enormous demand for electricity and energy expected in the U.S. in the coming years, and the need to have the greatest possible variety and quantity of energy sources. “In this sense, we see a growing potential to invest in clean energy in the U.S.,” he said at the ‘Latin America, the U.S. and Spain in the Global Economy Forum’ as part of New York Climate Week activities.

BBVA’s model to finance its clients’ decarbonization was honored by the World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders during New York Climate Week. The jury recognized BBVA’s solutions for its clients as best practice in the Finance category. Together with three winners from other sectors, they “show how companies can move beyond incremental change to deliver the systemic shifts needed for a net-zero, resilient global economy.”

‘First-of-a-kind’ (FOAK) is a technological term that refers to the implementation of a ’cleantech,’ or clean technology, for the first time in real conditions and on a commercial scale. These projects mark the transition from experimental development to market adoption and are fundamental to promoting the energy transition and advancing decarbonization.

Public and private investment in clean technologies (‘cleantech’) in Spain and Portugal must increase by an additional €50 billion per year until 2030, beyond current levels, to reach the decarbonization targets in the Paris Agreement. This was stressed in the report, ‘Capital Cleantech in Iberia: Mapping the Landscape, Mobilising the Investments,’ which also encourages financial solutions to support the implementation of innovative, pioneering projects, as well as their scalability and commercialization.

Photograph created using artificial intelligence (Midjourney).

Climate Week NYC returns September 21-28, 2025, for its 17th edition. Operating under the banner "Power On," the event will host more than 900 activities and deliver an unequivocal message: the time has come to deploy solutions at scale. As COP30 in Brazil approaches, governments, businesses, and civil society will gather to transform promises into concrete action.

The new office houses an Energy and Cleantech Hub, bringing specialized advisory capabilities to help clients advance their decarbonization strategies. It also serves as a platform to accelerate the growth of Corporate & Investment Banking in the U.S., expand Global Wealth Advisory services, and reinforce support for BBVA Mexico clients through its long-standing Agency in Houston. In addition, BBVA is proud to participate as a sponsor of both Houston Energy & Climate Week and Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week taking place from September 14-19.

“The ‘First Movers Coalition’ will help foster investment in cleantech for industrial decarbonization,” said John Rutherford, the Head of Institutional Relations at BBVA, who attended the event where the Spanish government joined this World Economic Forum (WEF) alliance.

BBVA firmly believes in the role of hydrogen in the energy transition and the business opportunity it represents. To this end, it considers advice and financing essential for rolling out projects based on this clean technology. “We see a real appetite from the financial sector to invest in hydrogen assets,” said Dorian de Kermadec, Managing Director Low Carbon Advisory at BBVA, in an interview with bbva.com.

The bank published its latest ‘Green and Social Bond Report’ on fund allocation and the impact of its sustainable issuances through December 2024. BBVA allocated a total of €5.83 billion to environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds through green initiatives, and €1 billion to projects with a social focus. This year, the amount of resources allocated to activities aligned with environmental criteria rose by 20 percent over the previous year.

Many European banks already have practices in place to detect, monitor, and manage climate risks, the second biggest concern for businesses. Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, acknowledges the progress made but also admits that there is still a lot to do.

BBVA's sustainable business continues to accelerate its growth. The bank has channeled approximately €63 billion into sustainable business during the first half of 2025, representing a 48% increase compared to the same period last year. At the same time, more than €30 billion was channeled in the second quarter, a new quarterly record.

Climate technologies are innovative solutions that aim to combat climate change by slashing emissions and capturing carbon from the atmosphere. According to experts, this industry could generate €600 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

Ami Vitale is an American photographer and filmmaker, and a National Geographic ambassador.She captures hopeful, inspiring stories about nature—and our connection to it. With multiple awards and a global following of over one million on Instagram, she is a leading voice in visual storytelling for sustainability.

BBVA's Head of Talent and Culture in Spain, Yolanda Martínez Bajo, and the CEO of Fundación ONCE, José Luis Martínez Donoso, have signed the ‘Inserta Empleo’ agreement to promote employment for people with disabilities.

BBVA’s Turkish franchise provides financing for Uludağ Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş.’s electricity distribution investments across Bursa, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, and Yalova, contributing to regional energy resilience and sustainable development.

Carbon capture is one of the most promising cleantech solutions for the fight against climate change. Companies like Heirloom are revolutionizing this sector with technologies capable of extracting up to 320,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air every year.

Cover photo: EFE

Garanti BBVA has become the first Turkish financial institution to adopt the Equator Principles, a globally recognized risk management framework used by over 130 financial institutions to assess and manage environmental and social risks in project finance.

BBVA has acted as Agent Bank and Co-Coordinator in a new €2.5 billion syndicated credit facility signed this morning by Iberdrola with a total of 32 international financial institutions. The bank also served as Sustainability Coordinator. The transaction was oversubscribed by 45%, underscoring the strong support from the banking sector for the energy group's strategy.

‘Aprendemos juntos Kids’ launches its third season by taking the leap into animation. BBVA’s educational series explores the world of childhood emotions through stories to help children grow with a positive, curious and brave take on life.

Responsible for 10 percent of global CO2 emissions, the fashion industry aims to reinvent itself with circular economic models. SYRE, a company in the H&M Group, is spearheading the change with a large-scale textile recycling system based on  cleantech to reduce waste and decarbonize polyester production.

In 2024, BBVA channeled €27 billion to boost the sustainable business and fund development projects in its emerging markets (Mexico, South America and Turkey), which represents a 60 percent increase over 2023. Meanwhile, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation allocated €1.5 billion in lending to vulnerable entrepreneurs in 2024.