Commitment to responsible management and CO2 reduction

Sustainability and the fight against climate change represent one of the greatest disruptions in history with great opportunities for banks, helping clients to move towards a more sustainable world, minimizing the risks while maximizing the opportunities that arise. For this reason, BBVA incorporates sustainability at the heart of its strategy, being, as we have previously mentioned, one of the six established strategic priorities.

Since 2018, BBVA’s Annual General Meeting has been certified as a sustainable event by AENOR in according to the ISO 20121 Standard. The governance of BBVA’s General Shareholders’ Meeting follows sustainability criteria, which allow it to reduce its negative impacts and generate economic, environmental and social benefits.

The sustainability analysis of the Shareholders’ Meeting is based on three factors:

• The environmental factor, whereby the minimization of resource consumption, the reduction of harmful gas emissions, the protection of the environment and the promotion of recycling and waste reuse policy are taken into account.
• The social factor, which includes criteria such as accessibility and the hiring of workers at risk of social exclusion in the design of the event.
• The economic factor, considering factors such as prioritizing local products and suppliers as much as possible.

At BBVA we are also committed to decarbonization. In this regard, we are working to reduce the CO2 emissions we generate in the organization of the General Shareholders’ Meeting. In addition, at BBVA we purchase and retire carbon credits in an amount equivalent to the CO2 emissions generated at the General Shareholders’ Meeting that have not yet been reduced.