BBVA works to integrate responsible management across the value chain, from the design, advertising and sale of its products to the management of risks. For the eighth year in a row, the Group has renewed its listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, one of the most prestigious sustainability indices worldwide. The companies listed on this index are selected following a thorough assessment of a number of aspects including economic, social and environmental management, as well as corporate governance. In addition, BBVA has received the “Excellence Award” from Dirigentes Digital for placing community involvement at the core of its business strategy.
Other important milestones in corporate responsibility in the third quarter of 2013 were as follows:
Financial Inclusion
The BBVA Microfinance Foundation continues to be involved in projects aimed at furthering economic and social development in the 7 Latin American countries where it operates. The goal is to provide access to financial services for the most disadvantaged members of society so that they can undertake sustainable productive activities that allow them to improve their own standard of living and that of their families. As of today, it serves 1.4 million customers with an impact on the lives of 6.4 million people and it has granted €763m in microcredits and accumulated volume of €3,400m since 2007.
Financial literacy
The Group continues to strengthen its commitment to financial literacy. BBVA Provincial has launched through its Foundation the “Adelante con tu Futuro” portal, which offers public access to information of interest and news related to basic financial knowledge.
Responsible Banking
Human resources. BBVA has been selected as the best financial institution to work for in Latin America within the multinational corporations category, according to the “Great Place To Work” ranking. The more than 2,200 companies participating have been assessed by their workers, in total, nearly 3.5 million people from over 20 countries. In addition, BBVA has created so far this year 910 net jobs worldwide.
Customer-Centric Approach. Since the launch of the program “Yo Soy Empleo” (I am employment), BBVA has allocated €5.9m to provide financial support to 1,365 companies, helping 2,239 people find jobs in Spain. The program is supplemented by a recruitment service provided by Infoempleo through which 101 people have already been hired, as well as a training program at the best business schools in Spain, which has so far benefited 1,059 participants. As part of the initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses, BBVA also sponsors the “Código Emprende” program, which was launched on Channel 1 of Televisión Española in September. This program aims to promote employment among SMEs and the self-employed. 6 businesspeople are competing for 100,000 euros. The prize will go to the business project that makes the most progress during the 7-week program.
Community involvement
September saw the opening of “Teacher Action 2013”, a global initiative that seeks to help teaching staff develop social values in the classroom from an innovative perspective.
The Group’s Chairman, Francisco González, has presented BBVA’s “5th Integra Award” to Galega de Economía Social, a group of companies that aims to further the integration of the disabled into the labor market, primarily people with physical disabilities. The award, worth €500,000, recognizes the work of non-profit organizations or self-employed people who carry out projects that bring people into the labor market and boost the development of initiatives and good practices in this field.
As regards social entrepreneurship, BBVA has funded 5 of the projects participating in “Momentum Project 2012” through the investment vehicle Momentum Social Investment 2012, which provides a loan or an investment in equity on advantageous terms. “Momentum Project México” has organized the Social Investment Day, an event at which the participating entrepreneurship projects submitted their business plans and finance needs.
BBVA in the Sustainability Indices
BBVA has a prominent position in the main sustainability indices at international level. As of the closing of the quarter its ratings were as follows:
Main sustainability indices in which BBVA participates
|
|
Weighting (%) | |
|---|---|---|
|
DJSI World | 0.73 |
| DJSI Europe | 1.49 | |
| DJSI Eurozone | 3.09 | |
|
Ethibel Sustainability Index Excellence Europe | 1.96 |
| Ethibel Sustainability Index Excellence Global | 1.31 | |
|
MSCI World ESG Index | 0.43 |
| MSCI World ex USA ESG Index | 0.91 | |
| MSCI Europe ESG Index | 1.54 | |
| MSCI EAFE ESG Index | 1.00 | |
|
FTSE4Good Global | 0.41 |
| FTSE4Good Global 100 | 0.70 | |
| FTSE4Good Europe | 1.00 | |
| FTSE4Good Europe 50 | 1.66 | |
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