Company Profile
BPER Banca has operations predominantly in Italy (908 branches). It has been listed on the FTSE Mib, the most important share index of Borsa Italiana, since September 2011. BPER Banca is focused on households and on small to medium-sized companies.
BPER Group covers most of the national territory (19 regions), thanks to companies that are deeply rooted in their relative areas: territorial banks; Product Company; Asset management; Extended banking services, consumer credit, logistic; IT systems and applications, data processing and transmission services, operational support and user assistance services, and administrative, accounting and back office services; recovery and management of non-performing loans.
Summary of Sustainability Strategy
During 2019, BPER Group, through an internal process involving top management and an external process of listening to stakeholders, defined the 2020/21 Sustainability Plan with the objective of outlining a development strategy integrated with the business models. The Sustainability Plan that was approved, along with the Sustainability Report, on 10 March 2020, integrated the Business Plan and outlines the strategic development guidelines of the company’s processes in terms of sustainability under the following issues: Governance and decision making processes on sustainability issues; ESG risk management; responsible credit; financial inclusion; responsible investments; indirect environmental impacts and fight against climate change; support for entrepreneurship; responsible management of the supply chain; support to the community; management of direct environmental impact; protection and well-being of workers and dialogues. The SDGs which the bank is committed to achieving and which are impacted by the Sustainability Plan are: 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16.
The SDGs aim to act as a driver for the world of business, key players in the achievement of sustainable development. It is in this respect that the BPER Group – in line with the indications of the Business Plan 2019-2021 and the 2020-2021 Sustainability Plan – also based its sustainability reporting within this international framework, thereby highlighting the strong relationship that exists between the pursuit of business objectives and sustainability objectives.
BPER’s approach on Climate Change is very clear: paying attention to environmental risk and climate change in the banking sector is not a compliance exercise or a reputational issue. It means considering a risk that has an impact on banks’ profitability. Today there is a need to account for our progress in building value and in redistributing it to the community, not only through economic performance but also by enhancing the Group’s environmental policies. BPER Banca’s energy plan is included in the Strategic Plan 2019-21. In 2020, BPER Banca was the only Italian bank to be included in the A List of CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).
In 2017, BPER Banca joined the UN Global Compact and annually reports, within the Sustainability Report, on the activities carried out to promote the 10 Principles (Communication on Progress), in accordance with the commitments undertaken.
For more information: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/participants/113751