Circular Economy

BBVA and Tiendas Ara, a major chain of discount stores,  have teamed up to offer a new line of social-impact reverse factoring. The aim is to provide Ara’s suppliers, mainly micro, small and medium-size companies, with access to more affordable finance solutions. In line with the commitment to narrow inequalities and build lasting relationships with local suppliers to boost domestic production and foster job creation, Tiendas Ara is the first company to join this initiative in Colombia.

Sustainability and with it inclusive growth are at the center of Garanti BBVA's strategy. As part of its efforts, the bank continues to support the EU Green Deal harmonization process in Türkiye, hosting a themed program of events titled ‘Sustainable Future in Exports.’

As part of its initiatives to combat the climate crisis and work towards a sustainable world, Garanti BBVA has presented the first activity report of its ‘Blue Breath Project’ in alliance with the Deniz Temiz Association/TURMEPA. The 9-month undertaking has promoted awareness training on waste surface cleaning in the Marmara Sea as well as sea cleaning in the provinces of the region to prevent marine pollution.

The BBVA and Anthemis partnership led the first pre-seed funding for Wiserentr with an investment of one million euros. The Spanish startup raised a total of €1.6 million in the funding round, in which Shard Capital also participated. Its novel service reinvents the way to access high-end technology, as users pay a fixed fee throughout the time they use the electronic device. Once the set rental time has ended, it can be returned or purchased to use indefinitely.

Garanti BBVA is to start producing environmentally-friendly cards from recyclable plastic. This will be first used with the bank’s Green Bonus cards, which will use the minimum possible amount of PVC.

As part of its efforts in sustainable finance, Garanti BBVA is to implement the Green Finance Specialist training course for some of its employees, in cooperation with the Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Technical Support Facility and the Renewable Energy Academy (RENAC). The course aims to increase the technical expertise of about 30 Garanti BBVA employees who work in different regions as loan officers, loan specialists and other related areas.

BBVA distributed a total of 11.5 million new debit and credit cards made from recycled materials among its clients in 2021, as part of a progressive process that began in 2020. The bank is already offering recycled cards in most of the countries across its footprint.

BBVA’s Turkish franchise is a leader in sustainable finance in its sector and plays an important role in the country’s development. In response to an invitation from the Ministry of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Garanti BBVA Vice President Ebru Dildar Edin analyzed the current status of sustainability in the world and the importance of the financial sector to support the transition toward a more sustainable economy.

Decarbonizing business activity is essential to drive a new industrial revolution that meets climate change objectives. Companies need to leverage technological innovation to place sustainability at the center of their growth strategy, and financial institutions are key players in accompanying them in this transition. Javier Rodríguez Soler, Head of Global Sustainability at BBVA, explained some of the key issues in this regard at the latest Money20/20 meeting held in Las Vegas (USA).

BBVA has acted as the sole sustainability coordinator for Wood, the  UK-headquartered global engineering and consulting firm, in a new syndicated sustainability linked financing facility involving sixteen financial institutions. The $1.2 billion facility is the second sustainability-linked loan (SLL) arranged by Wood.

BBVA will be offering recycled cards in all countries where it operates prior to the end of 2021. By 2023, the bank will no longer issue other types of cards, in line with its commitment to the responsible consumption of recycled materials, and recycling. In 2021, the financial institution will provide up to 7.3 million of these cards to its customers as part of a progressive process by segments and countries.