Environmental action line

The definition of these objectives for 2030 represents further progress in the 2021-2024 Responsible and Sustainable Banking Action Plan and in its commitment to continue supporting its customers in the sustainable transition. ABANCA also responds to the commitment at the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) of UNEP FI, which have the objective of achieving the decarbonisation of credit and investment portfolios by 2050 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Fulfilment of this commitment was addressed with a gradual implementation approach, so in December 2022 emissions reduction targets were established for the Steel, Cement, Aviation sectors and the 2030 exit plan for Coal financing and in December 2023, the decarbonisation objectives for the Fossil Fuels, Aluminium and Automobiles portfolios were published.

The publication of these objectives for the most significant sectors will be completed in June 2024, in which ABANCA establishes new intermediate objectives and commits to reducing emissions by 2030 in two key sectors, such as: the electric energy sector, and the residential real estate sector.

In this way, ABANCA has expanded its published decarbonisation path to a total of nine sectors and is committed to reducing the carbon emission intensity of its lending portfolio between 2023 and 2030 by 34% for the electric energy sector and 17% for the residential real estate sector.

The entity’s highest governing body, the Board of Directors, which monitors progress, has approved the decarbonisation path. In 2024, the bank intends to establish new alignment targets for other sectors that are intensive in greenhouse gas emissions..

» *Base year 2021 for the steel, aviation, cement sectors; 2022 for the fossil fuel, automotive and aluminum sectors; 2023 for the electricity generation and residential real estate sectors.

» ABANCA is adopting a gradual approach to the publication of these targets, which allows the company to adapt its targets to the changes taking place in the regulatory framework and to the information published by the main emitters. The decarbonization path will be revised as more companies publish their carbon footprint data and the methodologies used as a reference will be refined.

» ABANCA has participated in a sectoral project, coordinated by AEB, CECA, UNACC, in which other Spanish entities have participated with the aim of establishing a common methodology and tool for calculating CO2 emissions and reduction targets.

» The reduction targets follow emissions intensity metrics per unit of production, with a starting point in 2021 and a target by 2030 for all seven sectors (out of the sectors identified by the NZBA as most intensive). These metrics follow the Sectoral Decarbonisation Approach methodology, which takes into account certain elements of PACTA (Paris Agreement Capital Transition Assessment).

» Taking into consideration the EBA's request for ESG templates for Pillar III, and with respect to the 2022 publication, the NACE criteria that configure the different sectors have been aligned in accordance with template 3 of the Pillar III report. This redefinition has meant a slight variation in the intensity in the base year in the steel sector from 0.832 to 0.790 tCO2/t-steel.

» The 1.5ºC scenarios have been taken as a reference, specifically the net zero emissions scenario of the International Energy Agency and the calculation methodology developed by the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). This initiative aims to establish an international methodology to measure and disclose greenhouse gas emissions financed by banks and investors.

» This disclosure does not include the fixed income and variable income portfolio, or the lending portfolio outside of Spain.

» More information about the actions that contribute to the transition of ABANCA and that of our customers is included in the Corporate and Social Responsibility Report.

The bank set itself the goal of becoming a carbon neutral entity before 2024 in its own activity, in this sense we calculate our carbon footprint (verified by external audit) and have established reduction targets. These actions have been with the Calculation and Reduction stamps of the Spanish Office for Climate Change (OECC by its acronym in Spanish). We have the seal for 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022 carbon footprints. Complete information regarding carbon footprint calculations can be found in our Corporate and Social Responsibility Report.

ABANCA achieved neutrality for 2020, 2021 and 2022 emissions, with the compensation of the remaining emissions carried out through the promotion of forestry projects located in degraded areas, which need to be restored because they have been affected by forest fires or other natural disasters. These actions have been with the Calculation and Compensation stamps of the Spanish Office for Climate Change (OECC by its acronym in Spanish).

We support the planting of indigenous species in Galicia (conifers ecologically adapted) in degraded forested areas that need to be restored because they have been affected by forest fires or natural catastrophes. To do so, we have the collaboration of a team of experts from the ARUME Foundation and the Galicia Forestry Association. This initiative allows us to make progress in our aim to compensate for our carbon footprint. We also have the compensation seal of the Spanish Office for Climate Change for carbon footprint.

Our strategic energy efficiency plan for 2021-2024 is intended to offer guidelines for achieving greater control over energy consumption, by simplifying its management and identifying where reductions are being made in our energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

All the electricity that we consume comes from 100% renewable sources, in this sense ABANCA has renewed its agreement with Endesa, to cover most of the entity's electricity demand with renewable energy of Galician origin for the next years.

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The project was started to recover the tons of nets that end up in the sea, contaminating the marine ecosystem and affecting all of society, especially the fishing industry. This initiative gives a second life to all those kilos of ghost nets, which, with the help of craftsmen and the dedication of net-menders, are placed on the football fields and sports grounds of the clubs in our Basic Sports program.

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Our new waste management policy focuses on the generation points and contributes to promoting the circular economy, as it prioritizes reuse and recycling. The initiative consists of separating at source the waste generated into fractions that are managed by authorized managers and then potentially used as raw material for new processes.

Our corporate headquarters have been awarded the AENOR Zero Waste certificate

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We are making progress on properly treating electronic waste by attempting to give it a second life and reduce its environmental impact. In the reuse process, an analysis is made of its life-cycle in order to evaluate the environmental costs associated with a product bearing in mind its complete cycle.