CaixaBank goes one step further in its strategy of promoting internal learning in sustainability and will offer additional compulsory training on the subject to all employees in its network in 2023. Specifically, CaixaBank will deliver training that focuses on business opportunities related to the economy's decarbonisation and aims to make the bank's staff aware of the risks associated with climate change arising from the exposure of its activity, including the risks of transitioning towards a sustainable economy and the measures adopted to address these financial risks.
The course will also address the importance of the financial sector in the reduction of emissions and the loan and investment portfolio's decarbonisation targets, which are consistent with those of the Paris Agreement. This initiative is part of CaixaBank's 2023 Sustainability Training Plan, which will be delivered to its entire staff. As of the end of 2022, a total of 31,315 employees had benefited already from training on this subject.
The Deepening Training has also been considered for 1,850 employees of Business Banking and Corporate and Institutional Banking in 2023. Through the UPF Barcelona School of Management (BSM-Pompeu Fabra), CaixaBank will provide advanced knowledge on the basic concepts of sustainability; the institutional, supervisory and regulatory framework; measuring the impact; climate change; and future trends, among others subjects relating to the environment. In 2022, this training model was successfully delivered to 200 CaixaBank employees.
The plan also envisages training and certifying 3,711 branch managers on sustainable investment. With a duration of 25 hours and delivered by BSM-Pompeu Fabra, this training stresses on socially responsible investment and impact investment, the regulatory framework and the framework for marketing ESG products. In addition, training on managerial development will be provided to 1,200 employees in the area of specialised training.
CaixaBank will continue the path initiated in 2022 in this area of specialised training and will organise sessions to address any requests based on the teams' specific needs. Lastly, Virtaula, the online training platform available to its entire staff, will offer various courses on agencies and ratings.
Summary of training in 2022
CaixaBank reinforces its strategy with this 2023 Training Plan, a strategy that was defined in 2022 with training and certification in Sustainable Investments, training related to MiFID II and in-depth training of 200 employees on sustainability aimed at providing expert advice.
CaixaBank started to provide training on sustainability to its entire staff in 2021, with the aim of disseminating the basic principles, especially regarding the relationship with stakeholders and its impact on the business. In addition, CaixaBank became the first financial institution in Spain to link sustainability training to the bonuses paid to its employees.
CaixaBank, a European leader in sustainability
CaixaBank is a bank with strong historical links to the social impact of its activity, and as a result, it takes on the responsibility of driving a positive economy aimed at the well-being of people. With this goal in mind, the bank has developed a Sustainable Banking Plan, part of CaixaBank's new Strategic Plan, which includes its proposal to overcome challenges such as the promotion of sustainable finance, inequality, climate change and unemployment.
Sustainability is one of the three pillars on which it is based with a view to achieving the Group's results, and it sets out three ambitions: driving the sustainable transition of companies and society; leading the positive social impact; and encouraging financial inclusion, as well as fostering a responsible culture by being a benchmark in governance. CaixaBank aims to offer €64 billion in sustainable finance by 2024.
As a result of its work, CaixaBank features on the most relevant sustainability indexes in the world and is assessed by the most specialised analysts. Its presence on the likes of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the FTSE4Good indices, and on the A List of the CDP Climate Change program is noteworthy.
