BBVA Global Head of Responsible Business Antoni Ballabriga, speaking at a webinar on decarbonization and the financial sector, pointed at the sustainable mobilization of the economy as a whole as the most pressing challenge facing the financial sector, and noted that, in this effort, “it is essential to accompany clients with sustainable financial solutions and advice.”

BBVA USA today became one of the Founding Signatories of the Principles for Responsible Banking, committing to strategically align its business with the Sustainable Development Goals.

BBVA has developed a sustainable transactional product framework linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SGD), for qualifying its clients’ transactional banking operations as green, social or sustainable. This industry-first methodology has been reviewed by and obtained a favorable opinion from sustainability ratings agency Vigeo Eiris, and is making its market debut with a transaction by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, a BBVA strategic client.

Sixteen international banks convened by the United Nations jointly published a first version of the methodology to provide banking greater transparency and advance a better understanding of the management of risks and opportunities related to climate change. BBVA is one of the institutions participating in the project.

If the transition to sustainable finance is to be possible, society needs a committed business community that is aware of the environmental challenges, knows how to take advantage of the opportunities provided by green financial solutions and participates actively in the debate.  This was one of the main conclusions to emerge from the recent breakfast meeting “Sustainable Finance: solutions for a green economy”, organized by Grupo Español para el Crecimiento Verde (the Spanish Green Growth Group) and BBVA, which took place in the Bank’s headquarters.

• Bond issues: Based on the Green Bond Principles, within the Social Bond Principles and the Sustainable Bond Guidelines of the ICMA, the bank will also publish the framework linked to the Sustainable Development Goals required for the issue of its own sustainable bonds
• First Spanish bank to commit to the Science Based Targets Initiative to certify that emission goals are consistent with the decarbonization level required to meet the 2ºC goal set for 2050
• Renewable power pledge: BBVA has pledged to deliver 70 percent of its energy consumption with renewable sources by 2025, and to cut its CO2 emissions by 68 percent
• Fossil fuels: In line with its commitment to transparency, the bank reveals its total exposure to fossil fuels as 3.4 percent of its total assets