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Banca March participates in 'Earth Hour'

25 March 2022 Category: Sustainability

On Saturday 26 March, Banca March will turn off the lights at its central buildings in Madrid and Palma from 20:30 to 21:30.

  • This initiative, promoted by the WWF, aims to raise the awareness of society and governments about the use of energy and the dangers of climate change.  
  • All of the electricity used at Banca March comes from renewable sources, so the institution's carbon footprint is zero as regards greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.  
  • Faithful to its unwavering philosophy of Shared Growth with customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole, one of Banca March's main goals is to drive sustainable investment and financing that respects the environment and people and is still profitable.  

Banca March, faithful to its unwavering philosophy of Shared Growth and demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency, is participating in the Earth Hour initiative, promoted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). On Saturday 26 March, Banca March will turn off the lights at its central buildings in Madrid and Palma from 20:30 to 21:30. 

During that time, companies and individuals all around the world will join this major blackout action to try and raise awareness in society and among governments about the need to change our energy consumption habits and join forces to fight climate change together. 

Committed to 100% green energy

In 2021, Banca March culminated the energy transformation process initiated in 2020 that has led to 100% of its electricity consumption being from sustainable sources, specifically, from hydraulic sources certified by the CNMC (the Spanish independent competition regulator). 

Thanks to this transformation, all of the electricity used at Banca March comes from renewable sources, so the institution's carbon footprint is zero as regards greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Historically committed to sustainability

Banca March's commitment to sustainability is evident in every area of its activity. At Banca March, the only Spanish bank that is fully family-owned, with a unique and differentiated business model, sustainability has formed part of its business philosophy since its beginnings, more than 90 years ago.

Its commitment to Shared Growth, the cornerstone of the institution's century-old philosophy, demands a management approach that contributes to an inclusive, sustainable economic model while remaining profitable for stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole.

The institution and all of its subsidiaries are signatories to the UN Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative. Under the framework of the European Commission's Sustainable Finance Plan, approved in 2018, Banca March launched several projects at the start of the year to strengthen initiatives for integrating ESG (environmental, social and good governance) criteria into its business model.

The projects undertaken involve analysing the loan portfolio in terms of vulnerability to the effects of climate change, studying alignment and eligibility as regards transition and mitigation goals (under the Green Taxonomy in the context of the Action Plan on Sustainable Finance) and analysing the portfolio's carbon footprint, as well as designing a decarbonisation strategy that allows financing to be redirected towards sustainable activities and to contribute to climate neutrality. As regards mortgage guarantees, the assets currently in the institution's portfolio are being assessed for environmental and climate risk, both for transition risk in relation to their energy rating according to their EPC (energy performance certificate) and their exposure to physical and material risks.

As well as its commitment to sustainable financing, Banca March also seeks to promote investment in sectors with effective environmental management strategies in place. For more than 90 years, Banca March has been making the most of transformation in opportunities for growth and in new ways of investing responsibly. The bank's commitment to responsible, sustainable investments is part of its vision of a new cycle that will be heavily influenced by technology, digitalisation and sustainability.

Over recent years, Banca March has rolled out innovative, alternative investment and financing solutions that combine sustainability and performance: 

  • The Mediterranean Fund remains immensely popular with investors and the product's socially responsible focus coupled with its performance are key to its success. Increased assets have meant it could donate €126,441 in 2021 (€60,366 in 2020) for the conservation of marine ecosystems.   
  • Banca March provides a discretionary portfolio management and delegated funds service characterised by its added value that is one of a kind in the market. It also has a dynamic Next Generation strategy, based on global megatrends identified by the bank's people as part of the social and economic change (Industry 4.0, sustainability and the environment, and demographics and lifestyle). More information further on. 
  • As regards impact and socially responsible investing (SRI), it has the Amundi CPR Banca March Impact Fund, which considers performance and risk criteria and also a third aspect: the expected impact of investment on the environment and society. The fund monitors the effect of investment on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). JSS Sustainable Equity – SDG Opportunities includes a rigorous sustainability analysis of the companies it invests in as part of its portfolio selection criteria. Its objective is to invest in companies that contribute positively to the fulfilment of the SDGs, including ending poverty, fighting climate change, education, women's equality, support for the environment and the design of cities.   
  • For fixed income, Robeco Climate Global Bonds, marketed exclusively by Banca March, invest in bonds from governments and corporations with lower carbon emissions and that are decarbonising at a year-on-year rate of 7%. The March Green Transition Bond Fund invests in green bonds, debt from companies with credible decarbonisation route maps and from countries that are undergoing a transformation process and implementing a sustainable growth model. 

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