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UniCredit is committed to playing part to Net Zero transition striving to reduce direct and indirect environmental impacts while supporting Europe's green transition. In this context, in October '21 UniCredit joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), targeting Net Zero on own emissions by 2030 and on financed emissions for relevant most carbon intensive sectors by 2050.
NET ZERO BANKING ALLIANCE
The industry-led, UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance brings together a global group of banks, currently representing over 40% of global banking assets, which are committed to financing ambitious climate action to transition the real economy to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance aims to mobilise the banking industry to play a leading role in the transition to a net-zero economy.
OUR PATH TOWARDS NET ZERO
Own Emissions
- October 2021: UniCredit joins NZBA
- 2030: Net Zero target for own emissions by 2030
Financed Emissions
- October 2021: UniCredit joins NZBA
- January 2023: Disclosing first set of sectoral targets (Oil and Gas, Power Generation and Automotive)
- January 2024: Disclosing of 4th sectoral target (Steel)
- March 2024: Inaugural Transition Plan and annual progress report
- July 2024: Disclosing of two more sectoral targets (Shipping and Commercial Real Estate)
- October 2024: Deadline for further sector targets submission
- 2030: First targets deadline; intermediate targets to be updated every five years
- 2050: Net Zero goal for lending and investment portfolio
FINANCED EMISSIONS
In line with Net Zero Banking Alliance commitment, UniCredit Group disclosed in 2023 and 2024 the 2030 intermediate targets on six of the most carbon-intensive sectors in our portfolio: Oil&Gas, Power Generation, Automotive, Steel, Shipping and Commercial Real Estate. For Residential Real Estate, the bank identified a 2022 baseline to track its progress over time. On Coal, UniCredit Group already defined a phase out policy by 2028. In addition, UniCredit published the Net Zero inaugural Transition Plan and Monitoring progress on disclosed sectoral targets. The transition plan illustrates how we are turning our commitments into actions, making our targets operational, and ensuring all relevant functions of the Bank can contribute.
| Sector | Scope | Value Chain |
Metric | Scenario Benchmark | Baseline Year | Baseline Value | 2022 YE Progress | 2030 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oil & Gas |
Scope 3, Category 11 | Upstream, Midstream, Downstream | Absolute Financed Emissions |
IEA NZ 2050 (World) | 2021 | 21.4MtCO2e | -10% vs. baseline (19.3MtCO2e) | -29% vs. baseline (15.2MtCO2e) |
Power Generation |
Scope 1 | Power Generation | Emission Intensity |
IEA NZ 2050 (Europe) | 2021 | 208 gCO2e/kWh | 152 gCO2e/kWh | 111 gCO2e/kWh |
Automotive |
Scope 3, Category 11, Tank-to-wheel | Automotive manufacturers (Light-duty Vehicles) | Emission Intensity |
IEA NZ 2050 (World) | 2021 | 161 gCO2/vKm | 165 gCO2/vKm | 95 gCO2/vKm |
| Steel | Fixed Boundary System - Scope 1, 2 and 3 (Category 1 and 10) | Crude Steel Makers |
Emission Intensity Alignment Score |
IEA NZ 2050 (World) | 2022 2022 |
1.45 tCO2/tSteel -0.69 |
- - |
1.11 tCO2/tSteel |
Shipping |
Scope 1 and 3 (Category 3) – WTW | Shipping Operators | Emission |
IEA Net Zero 2050 (World) | 2022 | Passenger: 14.1 gCO2e/GT-nm
Merchant: 9.5 gCO2e/dwt-nm |
- | -30% vs baseline |
Commercial Real Estate |
Operational Emissions | RE operators - building ownsers (asset financing) | Emission Intensity | CRREM v.2.01 | 2022 | 44.2 kgCO2e/m2 | - | -44%/-55% vs baseline |
Residential Real Estate |
Operational Emissions | Homeowners (Mortgages) | Emission Intensity | - | 2022 | 36.3 kgCO2e/m2 | - | - |
How do we set our targets?
Net Zero targets have been defined in line with Net Zero Banking Alliance guidelines and main methodologies available on the market (e.g. PCAF, Sustainable Steel Principles). Both clients' direct emissions (scope 1) and indirect emissions (scope 2 and 3) have been analyzed. The decision to ultimately include them in baseline and target was based on the materiality of emissions, data and methodology availability.
To define intermediate 2030 target, the Bank referred to Net Zero 1.5° scenarios (i.e., IEA NZ 2050 for Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Automotive, Steel, Shipping, and CRREM v.2.01 for Commercial Real Estate).
UniCredit is a core bank for ERG, with which we have a solid and long-standing relationship with a proven track record for both mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and financing solutions. UniCredit has been at ERG's side throughout its transition from being an oil company to a pure renewable player over the last few years.
Acting as Structuring Mandated Lead Arranger, Global Coordinator and Bookrunner, we signed the green loan project financing agreement for an amount of €560m, to finance 3SUN, an Enel Green Power company. Through this financing, 3SUN has secured funding for the expansion of its gigafactory in Sicily (Italy), which is expected to become Europe's largest factory producing high-performance bifacial photovoltaic modules.
In May 2023, Mercedes-Benz Group brought a dual-tranche €2bn green bond to the market - the first EUR green bond issued since April 2021. UniCredit acted as Bookrunner, Technical Lead, Billing and Delivery Manager of the deal.
Steel is the world's most important engineering and construction material, used in almost every aspect of our lives - from the cars we drive and the buildings we work in, to the homes in which we live and the kitchen appliances we use every day. But steel is also responsible for over 7% of global CO 2 emissions and the industry is considered as one of the hard-to-abate sectors. The greenest steel globally will be produced by H2 Green Steel in Sweden, from 2026 onwards. This greenfield project will become the first hydrogen-based flat steel mill and is designed to abate up to 95% of CO 2 emissions in comparison with traditional blast furnace steel making. UniCredit has been involved early in the financing process as a 'Pathfinder Bank' to coordinate the lenders' technical and environmental and social due diligence. As one of the leading lenders, we are also engaged as Bookrunner and Mandated Lead Arranger.
OUR OWN EMISSIONS
UniCredit has been making tangible and consistent progress to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions over the last years, for example by procuring our electricity from renewable sources and improving the energy efficiency of our premises and data centres.
In particular, in 2023 we reduced the combined Scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions by 28% vs. 2021. The bank is committed to accelerate this progression, with the ambition to reach Net Zero on own emissions by 2030. Some examples of UniCredit's progress so far include deriving roughly 90% of the electricity across the Group from renewable sources in 2023 (100% in Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia).
Reducing our direct environmental impacts across Europe
Renewable energy sourcing is a crucial step on our path towards Net Zero on our own emissions along with space optimisation, energy efficiency, and heating systems transformations.
In 2023, we introduced a new Smart Office Workplace Policy to improve the quality of the built office environment with a focus on hybrid solutions, health, well-being, and sustainability.
We have consolidated our efforts in applying smart energy control systems, improved thermal insulation, adapted temperature settings for heating and cooling, and improved the algorithms that manage Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting controls, optimising both energy consumption and workplace comfort.
UniCredit has signed a partnership with CVA for the supply of electricity produced from renewable sources. The collaboration with CVA, a green power company based in the Aosta Valley, will result in the construction of three new solar plants in Piedmont, Lombardy and Sicily.
The new solar plants with a total capacity of 25MW will be operational in 2024, providing 35GWh per year to supply the energy demand of UniCredit data centres in Verona, covering around 20% of the bank's total electricity consumption in Italy. CVA will sell green energy to UniCredit at a set price, optimising the risk profile of the investment in its assets. This is the first time that a financial institution has committed to a corporate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) in Italy.
UniCredit is the first bank in Europe to obtain the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) scoring on its corporate real estate portfolio. The total portfolio analysed based on GRESB's sustainability criteria included properties owned by the Group, with an approximate value of €5bn, located across Italy, Germany and Central and Eastern Europe.
The initiative also showcases UniCredit as a frontrunner on ESG reporting for property management. The GRESB scores will be consolidated over time through continued monitoring of the ESG performance of the Group's properties and the related management processes, along with a constant comparison of these against the highest market standards.
In Germany, we have recently adopted a new car policy with the aim of achieving the Net Zero goal on our own emissions by 2030.
We expect a further reduction in company cars, from over 3,000 in 2017 to slightly over 1,000 by 2023, with a fleet comprising only battery electric vehicles.
Charging on bank premises will be favoured by the implementation of car electricity infrastructure which we expect to be complete by 2025.
We are part of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Biodiversity community, a capacity-building programme aimed at fostering awareness of the importance of biodiversity and its impact on ecosystem services, as well as recognising biodiversity loss as a risk to both businesses and the financial sector.
Moreover, this year, within the UNEP FI Biodiversity working group, we have contributed - alongside 34 international banks, but the only one from Italy - to the publication of the Principles for Responsible Banking "Nature Guidance for Banks". This aims to help the banking industry align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and address nature and biodiversity loss.
To support its transition to more sustainable practices, UniCredit provided leading European energy company ČEZ Group with a €320 million credit facility with interest linked directly to its ESG rating.
"UniCredit is our partner in the field of sustainability, which is not only beneficial for the climate, but also a significant competitive advantage over companies that do not devote themselves to this area as intensively as we do."
Martin Novák, ČEZ Group Board member and CFO
Loans with ESG parameters accounted for 20% of the long-term investment loans provided by our corporate banking services in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. As a result, in 2023 we were also named Best ESG bank in the Czech Republic by Euromoney magazine.
The Climate and environmental impacts topic maintains its high position and the several commitments undertaken by our Group towards the just and fair transition are our answers to this trend. Net Zero, Biodiversity and Circular economy pledges demonstrate our journey towards a more sustainable UniCredit.
Discover more about our Integrated Report 2023.