Unicaja Banco joins one more year the communication campaign #ApoyamoslosODS, promoted by the Global Compact Network Spain, to contribute to the dissemination of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) included in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).
The financial institution joins this campaign within the framework of its Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability policy, and in collaboration with the Global Compact Network Spain, to which the bank belongs, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. This campaign seeks to contribute to raise awareness of the SDGs among all the stakeholders: governments, companies, civil society and citizens around the world.
On the occasion of the said anniversary, the International Training Center for Authorities and Leaders (Cifal) in Malaga, a project of United Nations Institute for Training and Research (Unitar), has organized a virtual seminar, with the participation of Unicaja Banco’s Head of CSR, José María López.
Unicaja Banco joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2013 and became a partner of the Global Compact Network Spain in 2017. Since that year, in addition to promoting the Ten Principles of the Global Compact, it works to implement the 2030 Agenda and to align its corporate management with the SDGs, to find new business opportunities, improve the relationship with stakeholders and to promote innovation.
Action Plan on Sustainable Finance
In this sense, Unicaja Banco has established a set of commitments and good practices aligned with its strategy. The bank approved at the end of June an Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, with 21 measures, to guide Unicaja Banco’s transition to a model including topics related to sustainability in four areas: business models and strategy, governance, risk management and information dissemination.
In that line, Unicaja Banco, through its management company Unigest, has launched its first socially responsible investment fund, with ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria guiding the choice of assets in the portfolio (SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth-).
It is also worth to mention the Edufinet Project, with nearly 15 years developing financial education programs and promoted together with Fundación Unicaja. The goal of the project is to increase the financial literacy of citizens and to promote financial education through courses and seminars, publications and several Internet portals (SDG 4 –Quality Education-).
The bank is also committed to equal opportunities (SDG 5 -Gender Equality-), and it promotes actions which seek to boost the access, development and promotion of women in power roles.
It also has an environmental and climate change policy, integrated within its CSR strategy, which sets certain basic principles of action in terms of environment and in the identification and management of the risks associated to the climate change and its effects (SDG 13 -Climate Action-).
In this line, Unicaja Banco, on the occasion of the COP25 on climate change, held in Madrid in December 2019, signed, along with more than twenty Spanish financial institutions, a collective agreement on climate change, under which banks committed to reduce the carbon footprint in its credit portfolios.
Unicaja Banco, under its firm commitment to the UN Global Compact, establishes parternships and cooperates with other institutions. The bank participates, among other initiatives, in the International Center for Training of Authorities and Leaders (Cifal) in Malaga, a project of the United Nations Institute for Professional Training and Research (Unitar). Building alliances is another priority goal for the institution (SDG 19 –Parternships for the goals-).
