The challenge of changing the habits of 1 billion people to save the planet by 2025
BBVA is the first Spanish bank to join 'Every Action Counts', a coalition promoted by the Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA). This coalition was created with the goal of engaging, through technological and digital initiatives, 1 billion citizens around the world to drive action and environmental awareness by 2025.
Digital technologies are key in promoting sustainable actions and behaviors. This is how the GDFA advocates the creation of the ‘Every Action Counts’ coalition with the support of F4B (Finance for Biodiversity) as a strategic partner of the initiative. The coalition comprises a global network of financial technology companies, digital platforms, digital commerce giants, consumer goods and services companies, and experts in the fields of sustainability and nature and biodiversity conservation. Its members are committed to sharing best practices to support people in incorporating environmentally friendly habits into their daily lives.
Each coalition member will work locally to develop people-centered, technology-based interaction models with an innovative approach to encourage green behaviors.
‘Every Action Counts’
BBVA is one of the partners of the initiative along with other companies and organizations such as Ant Group (China), Mastercard (USA), Banco Davivienda (Colombia), DANA (Indonesia), FNZ (United Kingdom), GCASH (Philippines), Mercado Libre (Latin America), Microfinance Bank (Pakistan), Paytm (India), SANLAM (South Africa), Telenor, UNILEVER (North and Southeast Asia) and the Minderoo Foundation (Australia).
This initiative will connect nature conservation and climate change experts with some of the world's leading digital platforms, financial institutions and consumer goods manufacturers.
"A profound behavioral change is needed and we have no doubt that it is going to happen," said Antoni Ballabriga, Global Head of Responsible Business at BBVA. In his opinion, "we are at a very exciting time, which offers us the opportunity to develop digital solutions that help citizens to generate greater sustainable awareness and help them on the road to the transition to a zero-carbon world.”
“Companies like ours who are willing to take a leadership role at this point in the journey will have a huge impact and a guaranteed success. We are excited to be part of this new initiative, which puts environmental integrity first and sets high goals. In this sense, BBVA is committed to collaborating in the campaign by highlighting the role of the financial community.
Among the initiatives highlighted by BBVA in "Every action counts" is One View and its carbon footprint calculator. BBVA is the first bank in the world to use data analytics to calculate the carbon footprint of companies through the One View financial aggregator. This tool allows companies to know the amount of greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere as a result of their daily activities.
This feature facilitates the calculation based on the movements that occur in the company's aggregated accounts related to electricity, gas or fuel expenses. With this information, One View converts the expenses derived from energy consumption into tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by the business activity. Furthermore, based on this information, companies will be able to explore new, more sustainable business lines that will facilitate their recovery in a new context.
A profound behavioral change is needed and we have no doubt that it is going to happen
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said, "Nature provides us with the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and in return, our behavior has left much to be desired. I therefore welcome this initiative". Andersen also stressed that "as we enter the United Nations decade of ecosystem restoration, it is essential to put people at the center of the green transition".
Marianne Haahr, Spokesperson for the 'Every Action Counts' campaign and Executive Director of the Green Digital Finance Alliance, stressed that the goal is “to creatively leverage technology and partnerships to enhance green awareness and catalyze green action for 1 billion people by 2025".
For the Executive Director, people are the "new frontier in nature and climate finance". Thus, "customer-centric platforms and financial institutions hold the key to making each of us a key player in this new beginning towards a green economy," she said.
The coalition aims to take advantage of its potential to promote large-scale green actions, applying technological and innovative models to encourage them, as well as recognizing and rewarding their results.
Some practical examples of this strategy are reforestation initiatives such as those promoted by 'GCash forest' in the Philippines, Alipay with 'Ant Forest' in China, or Mastercard with 'Priceless Planet Coalition'. The coalition also seeks to encourage similar projects around the world, helping payment platforms and manufacturers to focus on locally relevant behaviors.
Sustainability as a strategic priority for BBVA
Sustainability has been a strategic priority for BBVA since 2020. The bank has recently announced that it will stop financing coal in the coming years and its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050, not only in its own emissions but also in those of its customers. BBVA is the most sustainable bank in Europe, and second in the world, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.