Throughout 2011, BBVA has worked to fully integrate the management of corporate responsibility into the agendas of its management teams. Proof of the Group’s commitment in this respect is that starting this year the Bank’s Management Committee has taken on the functions of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation. This new system of governance aims to extend the integration of the strategic management of environmental, social, ethical and corporate governance (ESG) variables across all the Bank’s business and support areas. In line with this process of integration, BBVA has been included as a participant in the Pilot Program of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The IIRC is made up of a select group of companies that will collaborate as a network to exchange knowledge and share experiences in integrated reporting. The other CR milestones in the quarter have been as follows:
Financial inclusion
The BBVA Microfinance Foundation opened and moderated the plenary session of the World Microcredit Summit held in Valladolid in November, at which the microfinance institutions Bancamía and Caja Nuestra Gente explained their experiences. Since May 2007, the Foundation has granted microcredits amounting to €2,500m to entrepreneurs in Latin America, and it now has more than a million customers. The Foundation has also concluded an agreement with AMPYME, the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Authority of Panama. The agreement includes joint action to create financial products and services, as well as training, skills extension and financial literacy programs and projects.
Financial Education
As part of the corporate financial education program, BBVA Colombia has launched Adelante con tu futuro (Forward with your future) to provide the adult population with the skills and knowledge they need to understand the operation and proper use of financial products. This will include workshops on savings, credit, credit health, transactional channels and banking security.
Responsible banking
Responsible investment. BBVA Asset Management Continental (Peru) has launched a new fund called BBVA Leer es estar adelante (‘BBVA Reading means keeping ahead), the first fund in the country set up to support a social cause. The resources will be used to boost the number of Peruvian school children taking part in the Leer es estar adelante program, which aims to improve the reading ability of young children. Additionally, BBVA has supported the publication of the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Observatory, which reveals that the participants of SRI funds marketed in Spain have increased by 40% in 2010.
The Environment. BBVA has renewed its commitment to the fight against climate change. At the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) it signed the “‘2ºC Challenge Communiqué” urging governments to take decisive action to address this problem. BBVA has sponsored once again this year the presentation of the Iberia 125 Report of the Carbon Disclosure Project 2011, which examines the policies and actions taken by the major Spanish and Portuguese companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
Human Resources. BBVA Continental has been included in the ranking of the 45 best companies to work for in Peru drawn up by the Great Place to Work Institute.
Community Involvement
The social enterprise plans selected for the first edition of the Momentum Project presented their expansion projects to potential financiers at the Social Investment Day in October. BBVA has also announced that it would fund seven of the ten projects taking part with nearly €3m through an investment vehicle designed by the Industrial and Real Estate Holdings unit.
BBVA and the Sustainability Indices
At the close of 2011, BBVA’s weightings in the main sustainability indices were as follows (see table in the right margin).
