Our commitment to protect and preserve biodiversity
Wednesday 14 December 2022
UniCredit is proud to be the first Italian bank to sign up to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge (FfB), as another fundamental step in our Net Zero journey, showing our continued commitment to driving the transition towards a better and a more sustainable future.
UniCredit is the first Italian bank to sign up to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge (FfB). The Bank is joining the Pledge among 15 financial institutions today. The Earth's biosphere is the foundation for human progress and resilience, and it is under increasing pressure. The FfB Pledge members jointly call for and commit to taking ambitious action on biodiversity to reverse nature loss in this decade. The protection, conservation, and restoration of nature for future generations is crucial to generating sustainable value for our clients and communities. This will be achieved through collaboration, engagement with relevant counterparts and the assessment of own biodiversity impact.
Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit, commented: “Biodiversity loss and climate change are impacting millions of people today, especially the most vulnerable in our society. This is an urgent challenge where change is vital towards a better and more sustainable world for our future generations. We are therefore proud to join the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge as the first bank in Italy, in line with our Net Zero commitment and ESG Strategy, to play our part in the collective effort to protect and reverse nature loss and to finance a fair and just energy transition, ensuring a more sustainable future for our planet and its people.”
The Pledge was launched by a group of 26 financial institutions at the Nature for Life Hub and the Biodiversity Summit of the United Nations General Assembly in 2020 and since then, the number of signatories has grown to 126. The group seeks to make a positive contribution to biodiversity through their financial activities and investments.
UniCredit is joining the FfB Foundation as a collaborating member with the aim to actively participate in the working groups contributing to the main discussions of the Pledge and facilitating the collective action needed to accomplish the Foundation’s mission of supporting a call to action and collaboration among financial institutions to reverse nature loss.
This commitment is fully in line with UniCredit’s ESG Strategy and Net Zero pledge, targeting Net Zero on the Bank’s own emissions by 2030 and on its financed emissions by 2050. It is furthermore complementary to our ongoing work to progressively reduce the Group’s environmental impact and protect our natural capital, while consistently increasing the positive contribution in all our communities and empowering them to progress with the right tools, resources, and advice.