Contribution to society

In the area of contributing to the development of the companies in which the Group is present, BBVA has the Commitment to the Community 2025, through which it will allocate €550m between 2021 and 2025 to social initiatives to support the inclusive growth of these companies. The objective of this plan is that these initiatives reach 100 million people in 2025. Specifically, it will support five million entrepreneurs, it will contribute to the financial education training of two million people and it will help more than three million people to have access to a quality education.

This plan is structured around three main areas of action and seeks to contribute to the fulfillment of certain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): reducing inequalities and promoting entrepreneurship (SDG 8 and 10), creating opportunities for all through education (SDG 4) and supporting research and culture (SDG 9 and 11).

In 2023, the BBVA Group earmarked 174 million euros for contribution to the community (131 million euros in 2022). This figure represents 2,17% of adjusted net attributable profit 79.4 million people have benefited from this contribution. In particular, among the direct beneficiaries, 3,307,147 entrepreneurs have benefited from support, 749.565 people have been trained in financial literacy and 861,023 people have participated in educational programs.

BBVA puts this community commitment into practice through its local banks and foundations, as well as supporting other foundations such as the BBVA Foundation, the BBVA Mexico Foundation and the BBVA Microfinance Foundation.

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Governance model

BBVA’s corporate bodies have defined and promoted that the Group has a strategy that incorporates sustainability as one of its priorities. Sustainability was embedded in the Group’s strategic plan in 2019.

For the Board of Directors, an essential element of this strategic approach is the integration of sustainability and the fight against climate change into the Group’s activities, managing the risks associated with these areas, and considering them a great opportunity for business in which to support its growth strategy. For monitoring and supervision, the Board is assisted by its committees on matters within their respective areas of concern:

• Executive Committee
• Audit Committee
• Appointments and Corporate Governance Committee
• Remuneration Committee
• Risk and Compliance Committee
• Technology and Cybersecurity Committee

In 2021, BBVA gave fresh impetus to its strategy by elevating sustainability to the highest executive level of the organization by creating the Global Sustainability business area, with direct reporting to the CEO and the Chair.

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Management of climate risks

The risks associated with climate change (transition and physical) are considered an additional factor that impacts the risk categories already identified and in BBVA are managed through the Group’s risk management frameworks (credit, market, liquidity, operational and other non financial risks). Climate risk management in BBVA Group is based on the process of risk planning which is marked by the defined risk appetite and makes use of management frameworks which establish how these risks are to be treated in day-to-day business activity.

 Materiality analysis

BBVA seeks to have a positive impact on the lives of people, companies and the society as a whole through its activity. To generate value for its stakeholders, BBVA carries out a regular analysis called the “Materiality analysis” which helps prioritize the most relevant issues for both stakeholders and BBVA.

BBVA carries out a qualitative materiality analysis to identify those environmental, social and governance issues that are significant for the Group and its stakeholders, taking into account in the analysis the double perspective of materiality, which underlies the NFRD and Law 11/2018, as well as in the GRI guide (December 2021 version). BBVA, based on this double perspective on materiality, identifies issues related to its business that could be currently or potentially affected by sustainability issues (“outside-in” perspective also known as “financial materiality”), as well as the way in which its activities could currently or potentially affect society and the environment (“inside-out” perspective also known as “impact materiality”).

The most notable material issues in 2023 are the following:

• Climate change
• Inclusive growth
• Customers
• Integrity
• Cybersecurity

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 WEF-IBC and SASB Metrics 

BBVA has assumed the commitment to disclose in a consistent, reliable and standardized manner the essential aspects of ESG (environmental, social and governance matters) related to its business. Among the different existing standards, BBVA includes its non-financial information in the Non-Financial Information Statement (EINF) for the year 2021, in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guide.

In addition and on a voluntary basis, BBVA publishes progress in ESG disclosures, according to two metrics with a high reputation in the market:

• WEF-IBC core metrics. BBVA has been one of the first entities worldwide to support the Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism initiative of the International Business Council (IBC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) – Commercial Banks standards. The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board establishes standards to guide companies on the disclosure of relevant and consistent financial information in terms of sustainability.

Participation in international initiatives

For over 20 years, BBVA has participated actively in various supranational initiatives. BBVA wants to continue to be the leader in the international agenda in favor of inclusion and the fight against climate change, expressing its commitment to various initiatives.

In addition to the UN Global Compact, BBVA co-chairs the UNEP FI steering committee, holds the chair of the sustainable finance working group at the European Banking Federation and is a member of the steering committee of the Equator Principles. BBVA is also a member of the Steering Group of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, the Sustainable Finance Working Group of the Institute for International Finance, the Task Force of Voluntary Carbon Markets and the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders of the World Economic Forum.