BBVA’s Global Head of Sustainability, Javier Rodríguez Soler, has been appointed Chair of the Advisory Board of the bank’s Center for Financial Education and Capability. The center, now celebrating its fifth anniversary, supports financial education as a tool to contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth.

BBVA has created a new sustainable loan that focuses on reducing water footprint, a key priority in many companies' sustainability policies. Iberdrola, one of the world leaders in sustainability, is the first company to formalize this innovative solution in the sustainable financing market, which can be structured as a bilateral or syndicated loan.

A recent report by Deloitte and the European Banking Federation (EBF) explains the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) in a company, the qualities they should have and what the purpose and future of their work is. 

BBVA joins the global initiative the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Forum. BBVA is the first Spanish bank to join thisworking group, which already includes more than 400 entities, organizations orregulators around the world.

Grupo DEME, a marine engineering company with a global presence, signed a €20 million sustainable financing agreement with BBVA. The loan is part of an extensive financing package that will enable the Belgian group to finance further investments in its dredging and environmental activities. Based in Zwijndrecht (Belgium) with over 5,200 employees worldwide, the company is reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and the environment.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila announced today at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos that BBVA and the Edison Alliance are joining forces with the BBVA Microfinance Foundation's commitment to contribute to the digital inclusion of vulnerable populations in Latin America.

BBVA mobilized €10.81 billion in sustainable financing between January and March, 2022, up 26% from the previous quarter, making it a quarter record. In total, BBVA has mobilized €96.7 billion in sustainable financing between 2018 and 2022’s first quarter.

BBVA's environmental footprint has decreased considerably in the past two years. In 2021, energy consumption per employee was 14% lower than in 2019, water consumption was 5% lower and paper consumption was 32% lower. Net waste per employee dropped by 52% over the same period.

On April 21, 2021, 43 financial institutions from around the world formed the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA).   BBVA now celebrates its first anniversary as a founding member by leading progress in the financial sector toward a more sustainable world.

BBVA’s donation drive in Spain among its employees, customers and non-customers has already collected two million euros, in addition to the bank’s own contribution of one million euros. Nearly 50,000 donors have joined this campaign in aid of Ukraine.

Uber, Instagram, Twitter, and Google are some of the companies in which Lowercase Capital & Lowercarbon Capital's founders invested when they were startups. Chris and Crystal Sacca have invested in innovative startups for years, first in technology and more recently in the fight against climate change. As widely known investors, activists and philanthropists in the U.S., they devote a major effort to environmental protection.

BBVA will co-chair the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) in Colombia, a new public-private partnership that aims to mobilize capital in support of Colombia's climate goals. The initiative will be replicated in other countries to close the climate finance gap in emerging markets.

Three energy projects financed by Garanti BBVA were recently presented with three awards by IJ Global, one of the world's leading journals for energy and infrastructure finance. The prestigious magazine recognized the bank for three projects it financed. The Star Refinery project was presented the award for the Oil and Gas Project of the Year in Europe; the Central Anatolian Natural Gas Combined Cycle Plant project (with installed capacity of 853 MW) won the award for the Best Energy Restructuring Project of the Year in Europe; and the Kalyon - YEKA Karapinar Solar Power Plant Project received the award for the Export Finance Agreement of the Year.

Garanti Bank is cooperating with the Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association/TURMEPA to further its goal of working toward a sustainable world and combating the climate crisis. Both organizations are collaborating to collect waste and prevent marine pollution in the Marmara Sea and the provinces of the region as part of the “Blue Breath Project”.

Given the massive influx of Ukrainian refugees leaving their country as a result of the Russian military invasion and looking for a place to live, BBVA has offered the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations 200 homes for refugees. The homes will be able to house up to 800 people and are spread throughout Spain, but are mostly located in Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia.

BBVA has launched its Global Financial Education Plan through 2025 with the aim of training one million people and reaching 50 million people who access BBVA content on this subject. The plan, which will be implemented in all countries where BBVA is present, has three lines of action in financial education: society, business support and collaboration.

BBVA is firmly committed to working towards building a greener and more inclusive society. To this end, for the second consecutive year and on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting, the bank will make a donation of 300,000 euros to social organizations working in four areas related to the environment and inclusive growth. ATADES, Aldeas Infantiles SOS, Asociación Amica and ECODES were the winning organizations in 2022.

BBVA has reinforced its commitment to the environment by releasing its third report according to recommendations issued by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). In a TCFD report, companies showcase their environmental activities and provide information on risks and opportunities around climate change.

In 2021, 79 percent of energy consumption at BBVA's facilities around the world came from renewable sources, surpassing the 70 percent target set in its 2025 Pledge on direct environmental impacts. The bank has also managed to reduce its direct CO2 emissions worldwide by 67.5 percent compared to 2015, very close to the 68 percent target set for 2025.

Garanti BBVA recently completed its first circular economy loan. The bank’s €18 million loan to Altek Metal forms part of its commitment to support the transition to a low carbon economy.

Loans to wholesale, corporate and individual clients represent 71.6 percent (€61.4 billion) of the €86 billion BBVA has channeled in sustainable financing between 2018 and 2021. These loans are a fundamental part of the sustainable solutions promoted by the bank to identify the opportunities that arise from climate change and inclusive growth. The remaining 30 percent mainly comes from bond intermediation, project finance and socially  responsible investment.

BBVA has accelerated the volume of financing for sustainability-related projects, both for climate action and those that contribute to inclusive economic growth In 2021, the bank channeled 35.4 billion euros in sustainable finance, up 72% from 2020, and totaling 86 billion since announcing its sustainable finance commitment in 2018 This amount is 43% of the announced total target: 200 billion euros for the 2018-2025 period.

BBVA has improved one position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), thus becoming the most sustainable bank in the world, together with the South Korean bank, KB Financial Group. Both banks received the highest score in the global banks category. After holding the second position for the past two years, this is the first time that BBVA has reached the top position in this benchmark international ranking.

BBVA has joined the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) in order to accelerate the development of large-scale solutions to fight climate change. BBVA is currently the only bank in the world in this alliance, which includes 15 leading companies from different sectors, working together with MIT academic research teams. The members of the consortium will share processes and strategies for environmental innovation.

As part of its efforts in sustainable finance, Garanti BBVA is to implement the Green Finance Specialist training course for some of its employees, in cooperation with the Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Technical Support Facility and the Renewable Energy Academy (RENAC). The course aims to increase the technical expertise of about 30 Garanti BBVA employees who work in different regions as loan officers, loan specialists and other related areas.

BBVA is one of 28 banks around the world that has joined the global commitment to promote financial inclusion and the financial health of its customers. Under the umbrella of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, the aim of this benchmark index is for a group of banks to join forces to accelerate a collective effort for these issues.