Responsible vision 1

In 2015, faced with one of humanity’s greatest challenges – climate change, all of the United Nations Member States agreed to create the foundations to ensure a future for everyone. This ultimately resulted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which lays down the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Planet, People, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships.

A roadmap to achieve a common social objective: sustainable global and human development, reinforced by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the European Green Deal to progress towards a carbon neutral economy.

At Banco Sabadell, we are firm in our commitment to support and accelerate these important economic and social changes. We have decided to align our business objectives with the SDGs, incorporating environmental, social and governance commitments into our strategy. To that end, we have established four key courses of action on which work is already underway: progressing as a Sustainable Institution, supporting customers in the transition towards a sustainable economy, offering investment opportunities that contribute to sustainability, and working together for a sustainable and cohesive society. Read more in Commitment to Sustainability.

Here at Banco Sabadell we align our strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, in order to support and accelerate the important economic and social transformations that contribute to sustainable development and the fight against climate change.

 

We continue to make progress in defining our Commitment to Sustainability, a framework for action that incorporates a forward-looking vision of environmental, social and governance commitments into our strategy. To do this, we have brought on board all of the Institution’s corporate bodies and we have established four pillars, which we are already working on.

 

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In line with our commitment and the main targets in relation to ESG:

 

• It is important for the Institution to be neutral in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, make progress in the area of diversity, ensure talent and continue incorporating ESG criteria into our governance arrangements.

• It is vital to establish decarbonisation pathways with our customers, to support them during this transition, and to set sectoral standards that limit controversial activities.

• Increase investment opportunities that contribute to sustainability, by offering a wide range of social, ethical, green and sustainability bonds and funds, both our own and those of third parties.

• And, lastly, in our commitment to society we believe that it is essential to take an active role to improve financial education, drive forward inclusion, and ensure secure transactions and exchanges of information.

Download the Commitment to Sustainability
Download the summary versión of the Commitment to Sustainability

In keeping with its vision, Banco Sabadell continues to steer its activity, organisation and processes in order to make a firm contribution to sustainability and the fight against climate change. To this end, it aligns its sustainability strategy and business model with frameworks of reference, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)¹, which it revisits periodically so as to bring itself closer in line with, and expedite its achievement of, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.

 

Although the ability to directly or indirectly influence the contribution of all SDGs is thought to be an important element of the Bank’s corporate purpose, given the nature of its business and its potential to make an impact, the Bank believes that its priority should be to focus on acting in pursuit of the following SDGs:

   

For more details about our contribution to all SDGs, see Non-Financial Disclosures Report 2024 (Sustainability Report)

 

(1) In 2019, Banco Sabadell adopted the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and identified those that were relevant to the Institution, setting these as priority SDGs, in turn integrating them into its sustainability strategy.

In 2024, Banco Sabadell updated its Framework for the Issuance of Sustainable Instruments, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This framework serves as a reference for the issuance of green, social and sustainable instruments in a variety of formats, both public and private.

   

The Framework follows the EU Taxonomy’s substantial contribution criteria for green projects and complies with the voluntary guidelines of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).

 

• Green instruments: Financing for eligible green project categories with environmental benefits, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions, pollution prevention and climate change adaptation.

• Social instruments: Financing for projects that generate social benefits, such as access to essential services, social inclusion and the creation and maintenance of employment.

• Sustainable instruments: Combined financing of green and social activities.

The net proceeds obtained by issuing these types of instruments (or the amount of the collateralised financial guarantees) are used to finance or refinance all or part of the new or existing loans or projects that meet the Framework’s eligibility criteria.

 

For Issues of ESG instruments, a report on the allocation of funds and the environmental impact is prepared annually and reviewed by an independent expert.

 

The latest report “Green Bonds Report 2024”, together with previous editions, can be found on our website at Shareholders and Investors > Fixed income presentation  in the subsection “Fixed income issuance and documentation > Sustainable Development Goals bonds”.

 

For more details, please see the section "Issuance of Banco Sabadell sustainability bonds" in the Non-financial Disclosures Report 2024(Sustainability Report) 

The Bank has adapted its governance model and organisational structure to focus on sustainability.

In March 2021, the General Shareholders’ Meeting approved the creation of the Strategy and Sustainability Committee, a new Delegated Board Committee with the aim of:

• Monitoring the execution of the sustainability strategy.

• Reporting regularly to the Board on matters related to the sustainability strategy.

• Reviewing the sustainability and environmental policies.

On the other hand, the organisational structure based on a system of three lines of defence has been adapted in order to include new responsibilities in relation to ESG matters, strengthening the business, macroeconomic, financial, risk and control areas, among others. It is also worth highlighting that the Sustainability Division reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Furthermore, in order to enhance the disclosure and communication of Sustainability topics to stakeholders, the Rating and Sustainability Disclosure Division was created in 2021.