Bankinter, the first bank to register its carbon footprint at the Ministry of The Environment

Bankinter has received the approval of the Spanish Branch of Climate Change to register its organisation's carbon footprint in the Record of Carbon Footprints, Compensation and Co2 Absorption Project.  Thus the company has become the first Spanish bank to register its footprint with this organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, which is responsible for collecting and registering the commitments of companies in the calculation and reduction of emissions, and their compensation in Co2 absorption projects.

To achieve this seal, which recognises its effort undertaken in the struggle to mitigate climate change, Bankinter has had to demonstrate that its carbon footprint from 2012 and 2013 has been verified by an independent third party in accordance with a recognised standard. In this way, the validity of the methodology applied by Bankinter to calculate its direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) arising from its activity, the authenticity of the details included in its Annual Carbon Footprint Report and the creation, by the company, of a plan to reduce its emissions is recognised.

The adherence of the company to the Record of Carbon Footprints is in line with the Bankinter 2012-2015 Strategic Plan on Sustainability, called 'Tres en raya' (Noughts and Crosses), whose environmental sustainability is supported by its project 'Carbon Footprint'. The purpose of this initiative is to minimise and to neutralise the environmental impacts arising from the bank, both of a direct nature derived from its activity and of an indirect nature generated in the financing and investment operations, through its identification, measurement and control in order to commission the necessary actions for its control.

The company has identified the principal eco-efficiency indicators deriving from its activity and has introduced an Environmental Management System, certified according to the UNE EN ISO 14001 standard in its three large buildings, for the constant improvement of its environmental performance. With this, it has managed to reduce its carbon footprint to scopes 1 and 2 in recent years. Similarly, Bankinter has put in motion different energy efficiency measures such as the standardisation of efficient lighting in main buildings and in its branches by changing to LED lights, improving the automation control systems in the branches or by the variation of operation schedules and timetables.

It is worth emphasising that Bankinter has been calculating its comprehensive carbon footprint since 2009 and since then it has compensated its direct emissions in different projects of reforestation, conservation, organic agriculture, and the development of renewable energies both in Spain and in developing countries.

Similarly the bank collaborates with leading organisations that assess and evaluate its environmental performance, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), of which Bankinter has been a signatory company from its beginnings. It has participated in the analysis of this project for Spain together with the largest Spanish companies in terms of market capitalisation, positioning itself among the main firms within the financial sector. Additionally, the company has adhered to the CDP Water Disclosure Project initiative, aware of the importance of water, of the opportunities that exist to improve its management and of the risks that the shortage of this element can pose to economic, social and environmental growth.