BBVA recognized at New York Climate Week for its client financing and decarbonization model
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.”
The Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders specifically recognized BBVA’s financing solutions designed to reduce clients’ Scope 3 emissions, or the emissions generated across their clients’ value chains, including suppliers or their clients’ customers, among others.
“We want to support our clients in their transition, and that includes the decarbonization of their value chains – especially in the sectors where it is most significant and presents the greatest challenge. BBVA wants to be their ally to help them multiply their impact,” said Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA.
In sectors such as textiles, food, automotive or construction, Scope 3 emissions account for 80 to 95 percent of total emissions. In these companies, the greatest decarbonization challenge is not improving their own processes or the energy directly consumed at their facilities, but how they support decarbonization across their entire value chain.
Measuring and tackling Scope 3 emissions is becoming increasingly important in climate reports, as it helps organizations to identify opportunities for product innovation, collaborate with partners in production and value chains, and contribute to global climate targets.
In the case of BBVA, the jury valued the comprehensive approach to “sustainable ecosystems,” combining advice, emission analysis and targeted financing for the sustainable transition and resilience of its clients’ value chains. This model has been successfully applied to sectors like the automotive industry – particularly the automobile coating industry – where BBVA has structured financing that enabled downstream garages to install solar panels and adopt energy-efficient equipment. This has helped reduce indirect emissions throughout the sector’s value chain.
The Downstream or Scope 3 Emissions Challenge
Downstream, or Scope 3 emissions make up 67 percent of the total carbon footprint of the members of the World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders. These 3.5 gigatons of CO₂ emissions are roughly equivalent to India’s annual emissions (from fossil fuels and industry alone), according to Our World in Data, with additional analysis by the Boston Consulting Group.
The 134 companies that belong to the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders have increased their revenue by more than 20 percent since 2019 while reducing their global emissions by 12 percent.
BBVA and sustainability
BBVA continues to advance its transition plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In addition to the intermediate decarbonization targets set for ten sectors (oil and gas, electricity, automotive, steel, coal, cement, aviation, shipping, aluminum, commercial and residential real estate) by 2030, BBVA is working on targets for other sectors, such as agriculture.
The main goal is to promote new business through sustainability. BBVA has set a new goal of channeling €700 billion into sustainable business between 2025 and 2029. This more than doubles the previous target of €300 billion for the 2018 - 2025 period, which the bank reached one year ahead of schedule in December 2024. This new, more ambitious target is established for a shorter period (five years instead of eight).