BBVA certifies all its buildings and branches in Spain as eco-friendly

Energy efficiency has become a priority on the agendas of public and private institutions around the world. Traditional energy sources are finite, increasingly expensive, create dependence on the foreign market and, above all, pose a significant threat to the environment. Energy efficiency can be defined as the optimization of energy consumption to achieve certain levels of comfort and service. For example, electricity consumption can be adjusted to users' actual needs or mechanisms can be implemented to save energy by avoiding wastage during the process.

"Certification under the ISO 50001 standard is recognition of the excellent work in energy efficiency that the Group has been doing for more than a decade," says Desirée Granda, Global Head of Corporate Premises and Services at BBVA. Within the framework of its Global Eco-efficiency Plan and following environmental and energy management policies, BBVA has managed to certify an energy efficiency system for all its buildings and branch offices in Spain, under the ISO 50001 standard. This international and voluntary standard, which applies to organizations, provides requirements for establishing and managing energy efficiency through reducing energy consumption. "For BBVA, certification is a vital tool to ensure that we manage energy resources optimally and generate the smallest possible environmental footprint in our properties," she adds.

This certification process, completed at the end of 2023, is a major milestone in the optimal operation of BBVA's equipment and facilities, and lays the groundwork for sustainable and efficient growth of the bank's properties. "Certification is an achievement that is part of BBVA's commitment to sustainability, one of our six strategic priorities. We believe that the key to the future in an increasingly globalized world lies in making the economic, social and environmental dimensions compatible in a harmonious and balanced way according to a sustainable development model," Desirée Granda explains. In Spain, the bank has more than 1.2 million square meters of environmentally certified surface area (equivalent to more than 170 soccer fields). "The energy savings achieved since we introduced energy management into the management of our properties is equivalent to the annual consumption of a population of 52,800 homes," confirms Granda.

In addition, BBVA has made progress in implementing the ISO 14001 environmental standard for waste sorting and management. The bank currently has a total of 21 buildings and 13 branch offices under this standard, representing 43 percent of total certified surface area.

A year of progress in the efficiency of properties

The ISO certificates are in addition to the 'Zero Waste' seal awarded by AENOR to the Ciudad BBVA headquarters in Madrid and the Opplus building in Malaga. This seal certifies that the organizations that achieve it recycle their different waste materials, preventing them from ending up in landfills. The bank has managed to ensure that 75 percent of the waste generated at its headquarters does not go to landfill and is reused thanks to a methodology that maximizes reuse and recycling in lunch rooms and catering areas. All headquarters buildings under the bank’s ownership have been certified to the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard for sustainable construction.