BBVA
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2020)
Reporting Period: 2020
Environmental Metrics
ESG Focus Areas
- Sustainable Finance
- Climate Change
- Social Impact
- Governance
Environmental Achievements
- Committed to being carbon neutral by the end of 2020
- Provided the first green loan to a utility (€500m for Iberdrola)
- Provided the first green loan to a corporate in Mexico
- Participated in the world’s first green bond issuance in 2007
Social Achievements
- Issued a social bond to alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis
- Set up its Global Sustainability Office and launched a specialized sustainability advisory service
Governance Achievements
- Adopted sustainability as one of the 6 strategic priorities of BBVA
- Joined 4 other international banks in the Katowice commitment in 2018
- Signed the Principles for Responsible Banking with 131 other banks in 2019
- First Spanish financial entity to sign Equator Principles in 2004
Climate Goals & Targets
Medium-term Goals:
- Mobilising €100 billion of sustainable finance by 2025
Environmental Challenges
- Varying levels of ESG awareness and sophistication among clients in different regions (e.g., more advanced in Europe, nascent in some parts of Latin America)
- Some clients primarily focused on pricing of sustainable finance products, requiring education on the strategic alignment of ESG with business goals
- Challenges for some developing countries needing reliable and cheap power generation, disrupted by stricter ESG requirements on certain projects (e.g., coal-fired power plants)
Mitigation Strategies
- Providing sustainability advisory services to support clients on ESG targets, benchmarking, reporting, and sustainable finance products
- Strategic dialogue with clients to help improve their sustainability profile and propose clear roadmaps
- Broadening the approach to sustainable finance beyond renewable energy to include public transport, hospitals, and social infrastructure
- Offering sustainable alternatives to all its products in the coming years
Supply Chain Management
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: Equator Principles
Sustainable Products & Innovation
- Sustainable bonds and loans
- Sustainable transaction banking framework
- Green derivatives
- Green FX transactions