The ‘green I love you green’ by Federico García Lorca in one of his romances is gaining strength at a hectic pace in Spain and more and more companies are betting on greater care for the environment. Rare is the large company in our country that makes no mention of sustainability criteria the ‘ESG’ (environmental, social and governancea) in your results quarterly. In this case, the large banks of the Ibex 35 have opted for its implementation and have even gone a step further and have given wings to that first leg, that of the environment, financing a large number of projects to make the environment more sustainable. planet.
Santander, which presented results this Wednesday, has taken stock of its 2020, in which it has given great support to the green economy. How did you do it? Helping its clients to be more sustainable since has provided 32,640 million in financing since 2019 for this type of projects and already has 6,900 million in assets under management for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). The entity chaired by Ana Botín has issued its second green bond for 1,000 million euros and they are already carbon neutral in their own operations.
The ‘green’ transition is one of BBVA’s pillars. The bank chaired by Carlos Torres has the objective of helping its clients in the transition towards a sustainable future as the second strategic priority of the group. The entity has between eyebrows its ‘Commitment 2025’ which is to mobilize 100,000 million between 2018 and 2025 in green financing, sustainable infrastructure, agribusiness, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.
During 2020 alone, BBVA mobilized around 20,000 million, which represents a total of 50,000 million mobilized since its launch. Furthermore, last year the Basque entity created the Global Sustainability Office to promote and coordinate sustainability initiatives and has pledged to be carbon neutral from 2020, to contribute to the fight against climate change.
Caixabank has been the first Spanish entity to launch the sustainable emissions market in 2021 as it has launched its second ‘green’ bond for 1,000 million euros and with a maturity of 8 years. With this income, it will promote two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as ‘affordable and clean energy’ and ‘industry, innovation and infrastructure’, which pursues resilient infrastructure, sustainable industrialization and the promotion of innovation. This type of initiative allows the Dow Jones Sustainability Index to include the entity led by Gonzalo Gortázar among the best banks in the world in terms of sustainability.
Bankinter has also joined the fever for ‘green’ bonds. The entity directed by María Dolores Dancausa carried out its first green bond issue at the start of 2020 for 750 million euros and maturity in October 2027. The objective was to finance or refinance the acquisition of renewable energy projects, as well as green buildings for residential, commercial or public use that have energy certification ‘A’. The entity made this placement within its Strategy on Climate Change, which includes the 2016-2020 Sustainability Plan (already completed) and which was baptized as ‘Three in a Row’ because of its three axes: social, economic and environmental.
For its part, Sabadell has a firm commitment to sustainability since in the last quarter of 2020 it launched its fixed rate green mortgage that is subsidized for the acquisition and rehabilitation of sustainable housing. In addition, it has been one of the most active since Renewable energy financing has skyrocketed to 1,132 million during 2020. For its part, with TSB and for the United Kingdom, it has committed to zero carbon emissions in 2030.
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