Climate change
Climate change is mainly referred to the increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere and oceans, this is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Its impact is already having consequences and repercussions not only on the planet's ecosystem, but also on economic and social dynamics.
Scientists and governments are aligned in supporting the need to mitigate environmental impacts to reduce climate impacts and support the transition to a lower emission future.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), held in Glasgow in November 2021, recognised the importance of a rapid and substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, regarded by the experts as the maximum safety threshold to avoid otherwise irreversible consequences.
The European Union has made clear commitments to combating climate change with the aim of reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Intesa Sanpaolo's commitment
In this context, as a financial player, we are aware that we have a key role in orienting capital towards a sustainable economy in the short and long term, precisely because we generate significant environmental impacts both from our direct activities and from our business; in addition to managing our environmental footprint, we can in fact exert a strong influence on activities and behaviors that we cannot directly control, in particular those of customers and suppliers, and facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Intesa Sanpaolo is very active in promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and the circular business model supporting its development and the different customer segments, committed to reducing their environmental footprint, by promoting green products and services offered by the commercial network in Italy and abroad. Particular attention is also paid to the impacts generated by customers and suppliers, contributing to the spread of procedures and virtuous behaviors that benefit the environment.
Intesa Sanpaolo has also adopted Guidelines for the governance of environmental social and governance risks regarding lending operations which determine the general criteria for excluding financing of companies or projects with particularly relevant environmental, social and governance impacts, and list sectors deemed as "sensitive". This framework is complemented by specific exclusion policies and criteria. Currently we have adopted the Rules for the coal sector and the Rules for lending operations in the unconventional oil & gas sector.
As a demonstration of the strategic importance of climate change, in 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo set itself the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 in terms of own emissions and in terms of loan and investments portfolios, asset management and insurance business. The Group has joined the related initiatives launched by UNEP FI. More specifically, in October 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA); in November 2021 Eurizon Capital SGR, Fideuram Asset Management SGR and Fideuram Asset Management Ireland joined the Net-Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI); and in December 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Vita joined the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) and the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA).
As a further confirmation of the strong commitment to this objective, within the 2022-2025 Business Plan and more than a year ahead of the NZBA deadline, Intesa Sanpaolo presented its net-zero aligned emissions reduction targets for 2030 in the oil&gas, power generation, automotive and coal mining sectors, which represent over 60% of the non-financial corporates portfolio financed emissions in the sectors identified by the NZBA.
With regard to coal mining in particular, the exposure target is zero by 2025, in line with the phase-out present in the “Rules for lending operations in the coal sector”, updated in July 2021.
The table below shows in detail, for each sector, the metrics applied, the baseline, the update as of 31/12/2021 and the target for 2030.
Sector and Scope* |
Metrics |
Baseline (30/06/2021)** |
Target (2030)*** |
31/12/2021**** |
| Oil&Gas*****(Scope 1,2,3) |
gCO2e/MJ |
64 | 52-58 |
64 |
| Power generation (Scope 1,2) |
kgCO2e/MWh |
214 | 110 | 154 |
| Automotive (Scope 3) |
gCO2e/vkm |
162 | 95 | 162 |
| Coal mining (exclusion policy) |
€ bn exposure |
0.2 | zero by 2025 |
* Sectors consistent with Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Reference scenario: IEA Net-Zero 2050. The design choices, regarding the value chain, the perimeter of the emissions considered and any proxies, are in line with the SBTi and PCAF methodologies. The exposures considered (drawn amount; Hold-to-collect (HTC) bonds, Equity banking book) for the purposes of the target setting include Non Financial Corporates in the sectors considered net of SMEs. Oil&Gas - focus on "upstream operations" and "integrated players", with the exclusion of refining and distribution companies; Power Generation - Only included the "Generation" and "Integrated Power Generation" companies, with the exclusion of transport and distribution companies; Automotive - Only car manufacturers included, with the exclusion of component suppliers.
** Portfolio composition as at 30/06/2021; latest available emissions data at the end of 2019.
*** The targets could be updated over time based on the evolution of the emission calculation methodology, the updates required by NZBA, the SBTi and the publication of new guidelines.
**** Portfolio composition at 12/31/2021; latest available emissions data at the end of 2019.
***** The Group has already adopted a policy to phase out unconventional Oil&Gas by 2030.
The table below shows the details of the absolute emissions as at 31/12/2021 for each sector.
Sector and Scope* |
Financed emissions** 31/12/2021 Mt CO2e |
|
Oil&Gas (Scope 1,2,3) |
43.5 |
|
Power generation (Scope 1,2) |
6.2 |
|
Automotive (Scope 3) |
13.5 |
|
Coal mining (exclusion policy)*** |
0.2 |
|
Total |
63.4 |
* The design choices, regarding the value chain, the perimeter of the emissions considered and any proxies, are in line with the SBTi and PCAF methodologies. The exposures considered (drawn amount; Hold-to-collect (HTC) bonds, Equity banking book) for the purposes of the target setting include Non Financial Corporates in the sectors considered net of SMEs. Oil&Gas - focus on "upstream operations" and "integrated players", with the exclusion of refining and distribution companies; Power Generation - Only included the "Generation" and "Integrated Power Generation" companies, with the exclusion of transport and distribution companies; Automotive - Only car manufacturers included, with the exclusion of component suppliers.
** Composition of the portfolio as at 31/12/2021; latest available emissions data at the end of 2019.
*** Estimated top-down emissions based on average sectorial emission intensity per euro of exposure.
Data could be updated over time based on the evolution of the emission calculation methodology.
Since October 2018, Intesa Sanpaolo has decided to support the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and to commit itself on a voluntary basis to the dissemination of transparent reporting on climate change risks and opportunities, so to include, within the framework of the financial information for stakeholders, the main climate-related communications.
Since the adhesion Intesa Sanpaolo provides its climate change disclosure as part of the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement. In 2021, the Group also published its first TCFD Report.
Furthermore, since 2007 Intesa Sanpaolo has been responding to the climate change questionnaire of the CDP, a non-profit organization that annually carries out an assessment aimed at evaluating the approach to mitigating climate change. The analysis is based on data and information provided by the companies, evaluated on 4 levels on a scale from A to D-.
In 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo was included in the leadership band, with an A- score.
CDP Questionnaire Archive
Last updated 1 June 2022 at 14:38:47
