Commitment to Sustainability
At Banco Sabadell we continue to move forward in our activity and organisation in order to support and accelerate the important economic and social transformations that contribute to sustainable development and the fight against climate change. Firm in this commitment, we have established our Commitment to Sustainability, a framework for action that ensures the integration into our strategy of a forward-looking vision in relation to environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments, that aligns our business objectives with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and that establishes action levers to generate transformation and promotion activities. To do this, we have brought on board all of the Institution’s corporate bodies and we have established four strategic pillars, which we are already working on:
- Commitment to Sustainability 1630.0 KB
- Commitment to Sustainability. Summary 476.0 KB
- Framework. Commitment to Sustainability 68.0 KB
- Main ESG Objectives 61.0 KB
- Tracking 2025 Objectives 205.0 KB
- Decarbonisation Strategy 537.0 KB
- Decarbonisation targets 2025 309.0 KB
Decarbonisation targets
Since 2021, the Institution has followed the guidelines of the voluntary Sabadell’s Commitment to Sustainability, framework, led by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), with the aim of achieving net‑zero emissions by 2050 across its investment and lending portfolios. Banco Sabadell has established targets and support measures to reduce its carbon footprint and, to that end, it has prioritised setting interim targets for the most carbon-intensive industries.
In December 2022, the Bank published its first decarbonisation targets for four emissions-intensive sectors (Power, Oil & Gas, Cement and Coal) and continues to build upon its strategy to fight climate change, setting new decarbonisation targets in December 2023 for a further three industries, namely Iron & Steel, Automotive and Aviation.
In 2024, the Institution completed its decarbonisation strategy by setting decarbonisation targets for four new sectors: Residential real estate mortgages, Commercial real estate, Aluminium and Maritime transport (shipping sector).
The activities covered by the aforesaid targets centre on the stage of each sector’s production chain where transition is most likely to reduce the overall volume of greenhouse gas emissions.
To reinforce its commitment to the decarbonisation of the economy and to the targets of the Paris Agreement and the, Banco Sabadell has a decarbonisation strategy that permeates all of its activities, through its strategic action framework, business development and risk management, utilising cross-cutting and sectoral levers to that end.
| Sector | Value chain | Emissions scope | Scenario | Metric | Base year | Base year metric | 2030 Target | % reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Electricity generation | 1 and 2 | IEA Net Zero 2050 | Physical intensity Kg CO2e/MWh | 2020 | 61 | 45-85 | - |
| Oil and gas | Upstream & Downstream (incl. refining) | 1, 2 and 3 | IEA Net Zero 2050 | Absolute emissions ktCO2e | 2020 | 6,300 | 4,851 | -23% vs 2020 |
| Cement | Manufacture | 1 and 2 | IEA Net Zero 2050 | Physical intensity Kg CO2e/tonne cement | 2020 | 660 | 510 | -23% vs 2020 |
| Coal | Mining activity | Not applicable | IEA Net Zero 2050 | Exposure Million euros | 2020 | 2.9 | ~0 | -100% vs 2020 |
| Iron & Steel | Production | 1 and 2 | IEA Net Zero 2050 | Physical intensity Kg CO2e/tonne steel | 2022 | 1,593 | 1,172 | -26% vs 2022 |
| Automotive | Manufacture / OEMs(1) | 3 | IEA Net Zero 2050 | Physical intensity gCO2e/vkm(2) | 2022 | 211 | 124 | -41% vs 2022 |
| Aviation | Airlines | 1 and 2 | IEA Net Zero 2050(3) | Physical intensity gCO2e/rpk(4) | 2022 | 94 | 65 | -31% vs 2022 |
| Residential real estate mortages | Owner | 1 and 2 | CRREM 1.5ºC (5) | Physical intensity KgCO2e/ m2 | 2023 | 20.9 | 16.8 | -20% vs 2023 |
| Commercial real estate | Owner | 1 and 2 | CRREM 1.5ºC (6) | Physical intensity KgCO2e/ m2 | 2023 | 25.7 | 12.6 | -51% vs 2023 |
| Aluminium | Production | 1 and 2 | IAI 1.5ºC (7) | Physical intensity KgCO2e/ tonne aluminium | 2023 | 645 | 549 | -15% vs 2023 |
| Maritime transport | Operator | 1 and 3 | IMO (8) | Alignment Delta (AD%)(9) Delta gCO2e/tnm (10) | 2023 | Delta + 25% | Delta 0% | - |
| Farming | Analysisi in progress: focus on customer engangement | |||||||
Notes about methodology applied:
Base year and 2030 targets data are based on the large corporations segment.
To determine sectors’ commitments based on the reduction of physical intensity, the average emissions intensity has been calculated based on emissions and output attributed according to the amount of financing granted. Commitments to reduce absolute emissions are measured in terms of the amount of finance used. Commitments to reduce exposure are measured in terms of the amount of finance granted.
The commitments have been determined based on the methodology of the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) o for all industries except power, residential real estate, and maritime transport ( Alignment Delta).
(1) OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer. Scope 3 emissions are those linked to the use of sold vehicles (category 11 - Use of sold products).
(2) vkm: vehicle kilometre.
(3) A correction factor has been added to the scenario to remove the distortion caused by Covid-19 in the forecasts data for the 2019-2030 period, due to the lower aircraft occupancy rate during the pandemic.
(4) rpk: revenue passenger kilometre.
(5) CRREM: Carbon Real Risk Estate Monitor for Spain and Portugal, specific to the residential real estate sector for the EU.
(6) CRREM: Carbon Real Risk Estate Monitor for Spain and Portugal, adapted to proportions per type of asset in stock of non-residential properties.
(7) Decarbonisation pathway determined by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) for recycled aluminium.
(8) International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
(9) Annual Efficiency Ratio (AER), which measures the efficiency of a vessel’s carbon emissions associated with its transport work over a one-year period, representing the grams of CO2 emitted per tonne-nautical mile (gCO2/tnm) and per tonne of cargo transported (gCO2t).
Alignment Delta (AD%), a metric that measures the extent to which the carbon emissions intensity of a vessel or portfolio of vessels is aligned with the underlying decarbonisation trajectory for each type of asset that meets the target of the International Maritime Organisation.
(10) tnm: tonne-nautical mile.