Banco Sabadell continues to guide its activity, organization and processes with the aim of making a firm contribution to sustainability and the fight once morest climate change. To this end, its sustainability strategy and business model are aligned with reference frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and are periodically reviewed to adapt and accelerate the initiatives promoted by the Bank in achieving the Agreement on Paris and the 2030 Agenda. In this last year, the Sustainable Finance Plan has been integrated into a new ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) roadmap , which reinforces the material aspects, while incorporating actions and expanding the ambition of the alliances and commitments with new adhesions such as the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) that reinforces the climate risk strategy. In this last accession, The Bank is committed to making its credit and investment portfolios neutral in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as the deadline, in line with the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.
Through the ESG strategy, the entity focuses on accompanying its clients in the ecological transition, generating sustainable investment opportunities, adapting the entity to sustainability and contributing to a cohesive society. In relation to climate risk management, the Bank classifies activities through its internal eligibility guide, which is aligned with the EU Taxonomy, sets sector standards and analyzes the environmental impact of customers, introducing physical and transition risk in credit admission processes. In addition, it is incorporating an ESG questionnaire in its visits to clients that helps to know the degree of performance in sustainability and adapts the solution proposal for each transition need.
Likewise, the entity advises its clients so that the regulations reach all of them in an orderly and understandable manner, and guides them in obtaining aid from the Next Generation funds, offering a comprehensive service, in which it identifies the most convenient subsidies, helping in their processing, co-financing or anticipating the subsidy. In addition, it carries out important training work through Hub Empresa offering, in the last year, more than 100 webinars and with more than 17,600 participants.
Sustainable financing
in 2021Banco Sabadell has provided more than 3,500 million euros in Sustainable Financing, including Project Finance for renewable energies, Financing linked to sustainability (FvS), and financing for individuals and companies (loans, renting and leasing). Precisely 45.7% of corporate loans from large companies were linked to sustainability. It has also signed 30 structured financing projects that incorporate the Equator Principles, 97% of which correspond to renewable energy projects.
Following the path of recent years, Banco Sabadell has once once more positioned itself as a reference bank in the financing of renewable energies by number of operations in the Project Finance modality. In this sense, the Bank is positioned as one of the fundamental agents to materialize objectives such as those established by the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, and that is why during 2021 it has mobilized more than 1,100 million euros, formalized through a total of 48 operations.
In parallel, the Bank offers solutions for every need with sustainable products oriented towards renewable energy, energy efficiency, mobility, and savings and responsible investment solutions. In the case of companies and individuals, it enables financing solutions with products such as the green mortgage, the renting of capital goods (photovoltaic panels, electric vehicle charging stations, LED lighting) and sustainable leasing.
Additionally, and in line with emerging needs and opportunities arising from fiscal incentives by the Government, the Bank has created products related to energy efficiency and the reduction of CO2 emissions, such as the Eco-reform Expansion Loan, the ECO Constant Amortization (PAC), the Community of Owners Loan, the Eco Agro Loan and the ECO Car Loan. On the other hand, the Bank has sustainable mobility solutions, counting on a new strategic partner for this.
In relation to investment, Banco Sabadell has a bond issuance framework linked to the SDGs, and has carried out 3 green issues in the last two years for a value of 1,120 million euros, in addition to helping third parties in the placement of bonds sustainable in the capital market. It also has several vehicles (Sinia Renovables) and entrepreneurship programs such as BStartup Green, with a focus on startups oriented towards energy transition, the circular economy, smartcities and industry 4.0.
Some milestones in Banco Sabadell’s adaptation to Sustainability are the 50% reduction in its carbon footprint in Spain compared to 2019 and 99.9% of electricity consumption from 100% renewable sources, betting on this energy since 2015. Along these lines, in 2021 the Bank launched the installation of photovoltaic panels in one of the main corporate centers (CBS Sant Cugat with 50,000 m²), in order to generate energy for self-consumption in different spaces of the building. This action makes it possible to reduce emissions by 364 tons per year, and to produce 5% by own means. Likewise, it has approved the compensation of more than 3,600 tons of CO2, through investment in forestry projects in Spain, with certification carried out by (MITECO), which will materialize during the first quarter of 2022.