The BBVA Foundation has awarded the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category to Paul Alivisatos and Michael Grätzel for their fundamental contributions to the development of new nanomaterials that are already being applied both in solar energy production and in next-generation electronics. The work of both winners opens the door to new avenues for the production of renewable energies, electronic devices, biomedical imaging techniques, and other applications.

CW Enerji, Europe’s largest solar power system manufacturer, has signed an agreement with Garanti BBVA Leasing, one of the industry’s leading leasing companies. As part of the framework agreement, tailored financial support will be offered to clients for the installation of solar-powered electric energy stations.

The projects financed with green bonds issued by BBVA in 2018 and 2019 avoided a total of 724.000 tons in CO2eq atmospheric emissions, almost three times than the previous year. This amount is equivalent to what more than 285,000 cars emit in one year, thus contributing to reduce the carbon footprint. This is one of the key takeaways of BBVA’s green bond report.

2020 is a fundamental year to consolidate the fight against climate change. Following COP 25 in Madrid at the end of 2019, and in the middle of the UN strategy to pave the way for the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, a global pandemic has simultaneously put the resilience of Earth’s society to the test. 

Climate emergency is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Besides transport, the agro-livestock or heavy industry sectors are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Our digital activity, linked to our traceable digital footprint, also contributes to our carbon footprint.

The repercussions of climate change and the ensuing environmental commitment made by governments, the business community, and society as a whole have produced an onslaught of various terms that amount to a full glossary bound by sustainability. Carbon footprint is one of these terms.

BBVA is celebrating the World Day for Reducing CO2 Emissions by reaffirming its environmental policy to develop a more sustainable economy. BBVA has committed to be neutral in terms of CO2 emissions in 2020. As of January 1st, it has assigned an internal price for its emissions, thus incorporating this factor into decision-making processes, as BBVA Group Executive Chairman Carlos Torres Vila recently announced. This measure is part of BBVA’s broader effort to align its activity with the Paris Agreement and cut its direct and indirect emissions. BBVA will light its Madrid headquarters building in blue in commemoration of this international day.

Industry and institutions consider the Internet of things an opportunity for the present and the future that will digitize many operations and bring tremendous benefits. But it also has the ability to help combat climate change and protect the environment. This is how the Internet of Things could impact the sustainability of the planet in different areas, such as water use and energy efficiency.

Energy savings at BBVA’s headquarters is 5,766,731 kWh a year, equivalent to the consumption of 1,900 households. This equals 12 to 15 percent less than when the complex was inaugurated in 2015 and a 1,430-metric ton per year reduction of CO2 emissions. The building’s sustainable design and equipment are not solely responsible for this success: tools powered by artificial intelligence have also been used to optimize the bank’s energy use.

Garanti BBVA has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certificate for the overall sustainability of its headquarters building in Istanbul. It is the only bank in Turkey to have received such recognition, which is one of the most rigorous green building rating systems in the world, developed by the American Council of Green Buildings (USGBC).

Through its renewable energy subsidiary, Enel Green Power España (EGPE), Endesa has begun construction of ‘Primoral’ wind farm, which will supply power to BBVA from the end of 2019. The plant, located in Villamayor de Gállego (Zaragoza), will be a 35 MW power plant capable of generating 108 GWh a year once it comes into operation.

A commitment to sustainable development is the best guarantee for a better future. All measures aimed at improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy are welcome in this undertaking. This is precisely the objective of the United Nations seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG): to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, an objective that BBVA is also actively supporting.

The town of Villamayor de Gallegó in the outskirts of Zaragoza will host the wind farm that Enel Green Power Spain will build as part of an agreement with BBVA. The 10 wind turbines in the farm will provide 30% of the energy BBVA consumes in Spain.

World economic growth is causing energy consumption levels to skyrocket. According to forecasts, energy needs will expand by 30 percent between today and 2040. This new scenario calls for practices aimed at promoting the efficient use of energy. But, is society really aware of the importance of curbing energy consumption?

BBVA is to link its power supply needs to the construction of a new wind farm. The new facility, which will be developed, built and run by Enel Green Power Spain, is part of BBVA’s 2025 Pledge and will add renewable energy capacity in Spain, helping to reduce CO2 emissions.

BBVA today announced its strategy around climate change and sustainable development, Pledge 2025. The strategy will help the bank meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Pledge 2025 will help the bank align its activity to a 2ºC Scenario and strike a balance between sustainable energy and fossil fuel investments and is based on three lines of action: financing, management and engagement.

A chronic deficit in infrastructure for telecommunications and logistics has hindered  Argentina’s competitiveness in the tourism industry. Even so, since 2015 the country has moved up seven positions in the World Economic Forum’s biannual report on Latin America.

Argentina’s mega-deposit of non-conventional hydrocarbons is attracting investor attention at home and abroad. With pricing and labor costs now settled, investment figures are starting to arrive: President Macri has announced $5 billion, private companies estimate $8 billion and the total figure for the coming years stands at $120 billion.

Big Data can play an important role in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which the international community hopes to do by the year 2030. However, to reach this objective, more information and more public-private cooperation is needed.

UN Global Pulse, a United Nations agency that seeks to use big data for the public good, has announced the winners of Data for Climate Action – an open innovation initiative to find solutions for climate change.  BBVA Data & Analytics collaborated with the initiative by providing statistics on credit and debit card transactions in Spain.

The Conference on the United Nations Convention on Climate Change is currently taking place in Bonn, from Nov. 6-17. At a side event hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), BBVA was invited to share its approach to green finance.

This coming Sunday, October 29th, at 3:00 a.m., Spain’s time will change for the second time in 2017. Clocks will be set back an hour to 2:00 a.m., so we’ll get to sleep an extra hour. This will mark the end of Daylight Savings Time, which began on March 31st.

Consumers might see their products at grocery stores across Texas, on airplanes, or at their factory nestled in Houston’s historic East End, an up-and-coming community undergoing a rebirth. Pita Pal Foods, LP is much more than a company producing a suite of Mediterranean products and gourmet foods:  it’s a symbol of how far East End has come.

BBVA has joined a group of 14 banks that have made a commitment to the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) to implement the recommendations on financing and climate change published by the Financial Stability Board in July in the framework of the G20.

Known as one of, if not the, oil and gas hub of the United States, the East Texas region suffered another dire consequence of Hurricane Harvey’s ripple effect: the interruptions to the energy companies who had set up shop in the affected areas.

Due to the ever-growing demand for green products and services, eco-friendly companies are starting to pursue business opportunities in the Spanish economic landscape. These companies are committed to the generation of sustainable wealth and respect for the environment.

Once again this year BBVA is joining in with Earth Hour as a symbolic gesture on top of its long track record of commitment to sustainability and caring for the environment. This initiative by the World Wide Fund (WWF) is now a decade old, and raises awareness of the fight against climate change by all those who take part in it.

Francisco González, Group Executive Chairman of BBVA, presented the book The Next Step: Exponential Life in an event held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,  This work collects the insights of twenty of the world’s most authoritative voices in a number of fields, analyzing the tremendous opportunities – and the risks and uncertainties – that the so-called “exponential technologies” will bring to humanity

BBVA’s new corporate headquarters in Madrid have become an architectural and sustainability landmark. Architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have designed not only a smart but an environmentally and people friendly city, reflective of the financial group’s global digital transformation strategy.

How did the sharing economy become a phenomenon? The initial idea – communities that share resources to improve services and limit the environmental impact of their actions – has evolved and reemerged in recent years thanks to the success of startups such as Uber, Airbnb or Taskrabbit. We asked some experts to help us understand why.