22 April 2021

Join us in celebrating Earth Day, an important initiative to remind everyone globally of the importance of environmental sustainability and that we must all be part of the solution in making a concrete difference 

2:00 min

Organisations across the globe today are actively celebrating Earth Day 2021 and at UniCredit we are happy to mark this important day with some highlights and initiatives we have planned to mark our commitments towards climate change and the environment in general. Our recently published 2020 Integrated Report highlighted several key ESG trends that show the changing social and market context, and why companies in our sector and beyond must adjust and be part of the solution

 

 

 

As we all know, 2020 was a year of great challenges and one which has brought ESG issues more to the fore than ever before. One example of this is the EU recovery plan, which coupled with the Next Generation EU initiative aims to provide 1.8 trillion euros to build a more modern and sustainable Europe post the pandemic crisis. This includes 672.5 billion euros from the Recovery and Resilience Facility for green and digital transitions and 10 billion euros from the Just Transition Fund for climate neutrality

Client and stakeholders' demands are changing

It is in this context that ESG must be seen as an important driver of positive change and a business opportunity that banks and other companies and organisations cannot afford to miss

80 %

of consumers have changed their purchase preferences on E or S grounds 
(Capgemini Research Institute)

 

70 %

of millennials expect to have a job with a societal impact working for a purpose-driven company
(World Economic Forum)

60 %

of organisations feel stakeholder pressure to improve their sustainability efforts
(Bureau Veritas)

Snapshot of our achievements in 2020


In 2020 UniCredit achieved the target of a 60 per cent reduction of GHG emissions and remains on track to become completely paperless and remove all single-use plastic from all buildings by 2023.


The bank also achieved a 67 per cent increase (versus a target of 25 per cent) of energy efficiency loans to individuals in Western Europe and is the number one lender to renewable energy projects in CEE. 


We have updated our coal policy with a commitment to, together with our clients, phase out coal sector financing by 2028, and continue to work to align our corporate lending portfolios with the climate scenarios of the Paris Agreement.

This week and today, across some of our geographies, we have initiatives and recognitions dedicated

to these commitments and to Earth Day: