BBVA has participated in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Brazil in June, known as “Rio+20”. This summit, which took place 20 years after the first one held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, has offered a new opportunity to reassert global political commitment to sustainability, the eradication of poverty and environmental protection. Other milestones during the quarter are summarized below:
Financial Literacy
For the first time in Spain, BBVA has hosted two OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) seminars intended to bring financial literacy to young people and schools. The initiative has been the prelude to the Conference on Financial Literacy that took place in Madrid in May, organized by the OECD and the Ministry of Economy, in which BBVA also participated. Additionally, Bancomer has signed a partnership agreement with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy among university students at Tecnológico de Monterrey. As part of this initiative the “BBVA Bancomer Chair” has been set up to enable leading entrepreneurs to share their experiences with the students.
Responsible Banking
Customer-Centric Approach. BBVA has signed a financial partnership agreement with the City Council of Ávila under which it provides lines of financing to businesses in the city amounting to 10 million euros. The aim is to promote and improve physical accessibility for disabled people. The establishments will be refurbished to make them accessible and enable them to obtain the International Symbol of Access (ISA). As part of the drive for transparency, clarity and responsible communication, commercial contracts at BBVA Continental will be made easier to read and more understandable by eliminating small print.
Human Resources. Once more, BBVA Bancomer has received the “Socially Responsible Company” (ESR) award from the Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía (Cemefi) in recognition of its social work as good corporate citizen, particularly the implementation of a number of actions in the field of banking penetration and the creation of a low-cost banking service within a framework of permanent innovation. In Spain, members of the BBVA Volunteer Office, together with six inmates from the Alcalá-Meco penitentiary, have walked the Way of St. James in the fourth year of the Caminos de Libertad (Paths to Freedom). This initiative is part of the Naturaleza y Solidaridad (Nature and Solidarity) project, which is intended to get inmates from penitentiaries involved in an active learning process, through solidarity with people in need and actions to protect the environment.
Environment. BBVA has reinforced its leadership in the funding of renewable energy projects and confirmed a deal to finance the construction of a 20 MW biomass plant in Mérida, which is expected to generate electricity for over 45,000 homes.
Community Involvement
The scientific committee of the “Momentum Project” has chosen the ten participants for its second year. The selected projects belong to various sectors such as food, energy and the environment, health and culture, but primarily those related to finding jobs for disadvantaged groups. This initiative, created by BBVA and the ESADE business school, has been included among “The 100 best ideas of the year,” an award granted by Actualidad Económica magazine. BBVA has also supported the Luces para aprender (Lights for Learning) initiative set up by the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI). This education project for Latin America will provide electricity and Internet connection to over 60,000 schools in the region.
BBVA in the Sustainability Indices
BBVA has a prominent position in the main international sustainability indices and has improved in general terms its weighting compared to the previous quarter:
