CaixaBank, the benchmark for companies and leader in sustainable financing in Spain, has launched a plan to promote the green transition of companies interested in implementing sustainability in their businesses. This pioneering project will help the bank's corporate customers tackle challenges such as decarbonisation and environmental improvement.
CaixaBank's objective is to offer a personalised advisory service with the support of an expert team. With this in mind, the bank has trained 150 expert managers of CaixaBank Business to further emphasise on the opportunities offered by sustainability as a driving force in their businesses, regardless of the sector in which they operate.
The plan is aimed at companies across sectors linked to the bank and with a turnover of up to €500 million. CaixaBank is committed to working with companies, especially SMEs, to introduce real environmental changes. SMEs are a driving force in the economy, but they need support in their transition to sustainability.Proposal of specific solutions for companies
CaixaBank has recognised that companies are facing increasing demand from customers, investors and regulators to incorporate sustainable practices into their activity. Large companies are adding sustainable measures to their supply chain, demanding their suppliers comply with certain sustainable requirements. In addition, the European Union is putting a lot of regulatory pressure on the agro-food, transportation and chemicals industries to become more sustainablewhich will require companies to speed up their sustainable transition plans.
In this context, the bank is launching this project with the intention of helping companies implement sustainability by means of specific solutions and supporting them in the transition with expert advisory services. The objective is that the companies obtain a comprehensive and individualised vision, in the short- and medium-term, of how to move forward in sustainability considering the opportunities and challenges. This way, the companies will become aware of the regulatory requirements of specific sectors and understand specific solutions to promote the sustainable transition, based on each company's activity. This advisory service includes an in-depth analysis of each sector, a summary of the main challenges in social awareness and consumption, an X-ray of the European regulations that will affect the companies, a report on the stages of the supply chain in order to detect improvements and specific solutions with a practical application that is coherent with each company's activity, regardless of their size and volume.
“Being sustainable is ceasing to be an option; it is increasingly becoming a requirement to access the market and reach customers. If we want to achieve a sustainable economy, much progress is required in many productive areas, affecting the entire business fabric in a more or less direct way. For some it will be an adjustment and for others a complete transformation, but it is a challenge that we all have ahead”, explained Luis Cabanas, director of Corporate Banking at CaixaBank.
Cabanas added, “CaixaBank is a leading bank thanks to our model of sustainable banking. And, thanks to the dialogue we maintain with our corporate customers through our excellent network of managers, we have detected the importance of supporting them with specific solutions that help them progress in becoming more sustainable. This is our way of being useful and supporting society and the people”.
Advisory sessions for companies
In order to get the information across the country, CaixaBank has organised, together with Deloitte, a series of sessions called ‘Sustainability and corporate success with customers’. These sessions will hold discussions on the main solutions that the bank offers to each type of customer, based on the sector in which they operate, and will analyse the challenges of each sector, considering the past and present and proposing future actions. The bank has decided to launch this project by focusing on three major sectors: agro-food, transportation and chemicals.
During this last quarter of the year, CaixaBank will deliver 12 sessions throughout the country aimed at raising the awareness of entrepreneurs, associations and employers' organisations on the importance of committing to sustainability.
CaixaBank, a European leader in sustainability
CaixaBank is a bank with strong historical links to the social impact of its activity, which is why it assumes the responsibility of driving a positive economy aimed at the well-being of people. With this aim in mind, the bank has developed a new Sustainable Banking Plan for 2022-2024, integrated into the new CaixaBank Strategic Plan, which includes its proposal for solving challenges such as inequality, climate change and unemployment.
Sustainability is a key priority for CaixaBank, and it has set three ambitious goals:: leading the positive social impact and encouraging financial inclusion; driving the sustainability transition of companies and society; and fostering a responsible culture by being a benchmark in governance. CaixaBank aims to offer €64 billion in sustainable finance between 2022 and 2024.
In addition to providing capital to fund energy transition initiatives, the objectives of mobilising sustainable financing include social purposes, such as facilitating microloans to students, self-employed workers, microenterprises, families and new companies that generate employment. The bank has also committed to reaching 413,300 beneficiaries of MicroBank, which is the CaixaBank Group's social bank, and obtaining top ratings from the leading ESG analysts.
Since the publication of the framework for issuing bonds linked to Sustainable Development Goals in August 2019, CaixaBank has become the leading bank in issuances based on ESG criteria in Europe, with 11 issuances: 6 green bonds and 5 social bonds, with a total of €10 billion and £500 million worth of ESG issues outstanding in the market.
A leading bank for companies
CaixaBank has consolidated its stance as a leading bank for businesses thanks to its specialisation model, with products and services tailored to the specific needs of this customer segment. CaixaBank Business provides its services through 220 specialised centres and branches throughout every region of Spain, staffed by 2,200 highly qualified professionals with a solid reputation in business consulting.
The company has specialists in financing, foreign trade, treasury, tourism, real estate and SMEs, who offer a personalised service beyond financing to support and promote the corporate sector. Furthermore, through DayOne, CaixaBank provides specialised services to technology and innovation companies and their investors.
Internationally, the bank supports its corporate customers with various operational solutions that provide effective access to 127 markets in different countries, and it offers the best guidance for their operations abroad. CaixaBank provides services both to SMEs and micro-enterprises that are just starting with their export activities, and to large corporations and business groups that are involved in more complex international projects.
