CaixaBank launches the first credit card in Spain made with 100% recycled plastic

• The financial institution is one of the leaders in the sector in mitigating the effects of climate change, with international recognition for its environmental strategy.
• This project represents a further step towards the replacement of the more than 18 million plastics on its cards with more sustainable materials in the next five years.

CaixaBank offers its customers the first card made from 100% recycled material to be marketed in Spain. This Visa & Pay product, which can be requested both in branches and online at www.CaixaBank.es by interested customers, is made entirely from recycled PVC from sources such as waste from the construction industry, plastic recycling bags or waste from other cards, among others. 

Recycled plastic Visa & Pay is another step towards the introduction of recycled materials across the entire range of CaixaBank cards, which would mean the replacement of approximately more than 18 million plastics currently in use. 

The bank, chaired by Jordi Gual and with Gonzalo Gortázar as CEO, is a pioneer in Spain in the introduction of recycled materials for financial products. In 2019 the entire range of the bank’s gift cards (about 150,000 units per year) already began to be made of a biodegradable material (polylactic acid, from corn starch), to facilitate its recycling and end-of-life disposal (maximum of two years, in the case of gift cards). 

CaixaBank plans to market 10,000 units of this new Visa & Pay during 2020. The new card made of recycled plastic is designed to be used as the usual card for customers.

 A card designed to respect the environment

The new recycled plastic Visa & Pay card offers the same financial services as a Visa & Pay credit card, although it incorporates innovations compared to the usual standards, such as the possibility of rounding up each purchase for savings which, if desired, can be donated to an environmental NGO. 

In addition, CaixaBank is committed to offsetting its carbon footprint and therefore, in this campaign, the bank will finance the planting of a tree for each new card.

Alliances and initiatives for the sustainability of the planet

CaixaBank is one of the leading financial institutions in mitigating the effects of climate change. The CDP organisation has included CaixaBank in the index of leading companies in the fight against climate change for the sixth consecutive year.

In February 2019, the bank published a Declaration on Climate Change, a proposal with five lines of action that includes commitments related to decarbonisation: finance solutions to address climate change; manage the risks derived from climate change; minimise and offset the carbon footprint; collaborate with other organisations for a collective advancement; and report our progress in a transparent way.

To this end, CaixaBank promotes the digitisation of its card pool, finances renewable energy projects (€2.4Bn in 2019), finances projects linked to the improvement in sustainability indices or environmental indicators (€919 million) and offers green loans ($1.54Bn in 2019). The financial institution also has several ecoLoans and ecoMicroloans lines (€10.2 million in EconFinance in 2019).

At the same time, CaixaBank participates in the green bond market for sustainable investment. In the Bloomberg world ranking, CaixaBank ranks 13th in financing syndicated green loans by volume.

Likewise, the bank carries out careful management of environmental risks, to avoid, minimise, mitigate and remedy potential risks to the environment or the community as much as possible. In February 2019, CaixaBank’s Board of Directors approved an Environmental Risk Management Policy which establishes exclusions for sectors with potential negative impacts on the environment.

CaixaBank has an active emissions reduction policy in place, which has resulted in a reduction of 80% since 2009. In addition, the bank receives its electricity supply almost entirely from renewable sources and is the only one in Spain that offsets 100% of all its calculated emissions, including indirect emissions.

The bank was the first Spanish organisation included in the RE100 list, an initiative that aims to increase the demand and supply of clean energy. It is also part of the Spanish Green Growth Group, which advocates for economic growth linked to a low-carbon economy.

CaixaBank has also joined the United Nations Collective Commitment for Climate Action, a declaration that is created within the framework of the Principles of Responsible Banking for the financial sector to mobilise its products, services and relationships to facilitate the economic transition towards a sustainable model. The commitment aims to align the portfolios of financial institutions around the world to finance a low-carbon economy, with the goal of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius.