BBVA Compass becomes first Rio Grande Valley company to take Lights Out RGV! pledge
BBVA Compass has officially become the first Rio Grande Valley company to take the Lights Out RGV! pledge, which will include a reduction in lighting in corporate and larger area offices.
The pledge is part of the Lights Out RGV! campaign designed to reduce light pollution that impedes annual bird migration in the Rio Grande Valley. BBVA Compass’s pledge includes turning off unnecessary outdoor lighting between dawn and midnight, reducing interior lights with blinds or task lighting, and using only downward facing lights at night.
“Our brand promise is to create opportunities across our entire footprint,” said BBVA Compass Texas Border and Gulf Coast CEO Jon Rebello. “Bird migration is not only a staple in our region’s tourism sector, but it’s also essential to the Rio Grande Valley’s natural landscape. We pledge to do everything in our power to create the opportunity for our precious wildlife and ecosystem to thrive.”
According to the Lights Out RGV! campaign, over 215 species of birds migrate through the Lower Rio Grande Valley each year. However, city light pollution disrupts migration, luring birds off their paths and into deadly collisions with windows and walls.
BBVA Compass’s pledge is another in a long line of commitments to sustainability and climate stability. Last week, the bank’s parent group in Spain announced it had secured €11.8 billion in sustainable financing in 2018, the first year of Pledge 2025, the bank’s initiative to combat climate change.
In March, the bank’s Global footprint came together to celebrate Earth Hour, an initiative promoted by the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Hundreds of BBVA buildings and offices across 10 different countries joined this initiative by turning off their lights at night.