BBVA joins Earth Hour, turning off the lights at its corporate headquarters
Citizens, companies, city councils and institutions from all over the world will turn off the lights this Saturday, March 22 for Earth Hour to fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity. BBVA participates for yet another year in this initiative organized since 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund, turning off a hundred headquarters, corporate buildings and branches spread throughout all the countries where the bank is present.
For one hour each year, thousands of iconic buildings and monuments around the world, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum, turn off their lights. Earth Hour has become one of the largest global initiatives in defense of the environment. This year it will take place on Saturday, March 22 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. At that time, citizens, companies, municipalities and institutions around the world will voluntarily carry out a massive blackout. This is the case of BBVA, which once again will participate in this initiative by turning off 73 buildings, including all corporate headquarters, and 52 branches spread across 67 cities where the bank has a presence.
This initiative was launched more that 10 years ago as a symbolic gesture to draw attention to the problem of climate change. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) organized Earth Hour for the first time in Sydney in 2007. Since then, every year, individuals and organizations from all over the world have participated in the initiative. In past editions, according to WWF, more than 17,000 buildings and monuments have been turned off.
There is an urgent need to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. However, the World Wildlife Fund warns that the planet has already warmed 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels and it is possible to reach the 1.5°C threshold by 2030. “The next 7 years are crucial to determine if we stay within our limits,” they say from WWF.
This increase in global temperature has resulted in extreme weather events such as floods, heat waves, and devastating fires, which are becoming more frequent, explains the World Wildlife Fund.
BBVA's commitment to sustainability
BBVA aims to accompany and help its clients move towards a more sustainable world. To achieve this, it has placed sustainability at the center of its business and is one of its six strategic priorities to address three major challenges: fighting climate change, conserving natural capital and promoting inclusive growth.
In climate action, BBVA will channel 700 billion euros in sustainable business from 2025 to 2029, more than doubling its previus target of 300 billion euros for the 2018-2025 period. From January 2018 to December 2024, the bank had already mobilized a total of 304 billion euros in sustainable business, reaching its target one year ahed of schedule.
Likewise, in addition to the decarbonization objectives already set for 2030 in ten sectors (oil and gas, electricity, automobiles, steel, cement, coal, aluminum, commercial and residential real estate, aviation and maritime transport), BBVA is working to establish them in other sectors, such as agriculture.