Climate change

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).

Within the 2022-2025 Business Plan, following membership of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), the 2030 objectives relating to four highly emission-intensive sectors have been published: Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Automotive and Coal Mining. In particular, a phase out is expected for Coal Mining by 2025, in line with the exclusion policy present in the "Rules for credit operations in the coal sector", updated in July 2021.
In 2023, the target setting exercise continued with the addition of the Iron&Steel and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) sectors. Furthermore, in alignment with the perimeter and scope choices made for the definition of the SBTi targets, the Automotive and Power sectors were reviewed Generation. The sectors covered by target settings represent more than 66% of the financed issues of the portfolio of non-financial companies in the sectors indicated by the NZBA.

The progress and annual monitoring of the targets, as well as the Sector Transition Plan, are available in the 2023 Climate Report approved by the Board of Directors in March 2024. At the end of 2023, an overall reduction of 22% in absolute emissions is highlighted in the target sectors compared to 2022.
The “NZBA target setting: annual reporting of estimated emissions” section of the Climate Report has undergone limited assurance.

The table below represents in detail, for each targeted sector, the metrics applied, the value chain, the baseline, the 2030 objective and the 2023 result.

* Central value of the range indicated as target
For details see the ANALYSIS BY SECTOR and METHODOLOGY sections of 2023 Climate Report

Total absolute financed emissions

*Iron & Steel only considers CO₂ emissions
For details see the ANALYSIS BY SECTOR and METHODOLOGY sections of the 2023 Climate Report 
^** DATA BREAKDOWN - ASSET CLASS: Loan: 10.5MtCO2e; Project Finance:  7.2MtCO2e; HTC: 2.55MtCO2e. DATA BREAKDOWN – SCOPE (For Power Generation rev, Oil&Gas, Automotive rev, Iron&Steel) Scope 1: 3.9 MtCO2e; Scope 2: 0.6 MtCO2e;Scope 3: 14.8 MtCO2e. For Commercial Real Estate and Coal mining the breakdown for scope is not available.

The portfolio coverage (as of 12/31/2023) for each targeted sector compared to the total loans at the consolidated level of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group (429.5 billion euro) is as follows: Commercial Real Estate: 2.1% (9.0 billion euro); Power Generation revised: 1.3% (5.8 billion euro); Oil & Gas: 1.0% (4.1 billion euro); Automotive revised: 0.3% (1.3 billion euro); Iron&Steel: 0.2% (1.0 billion euro); Coal mining: 0.01% (0.03 billion euro).
For completeness of information, the issues are reported below in relation to the loans granted in the sectors subject to target setting.

Note: each value is calculated as the ratio between the financed emissions (non-material invested amount) in scope (numerator) and the total exposures (denominator) in scope (for details see METHODOLOGY section of the 2023 Climate Report).

For details, see the ANALYSIS BY SECTOR and METHODOLOGY sections of the 2023 Climate Report.
Disclaimer: metrics and data may be updated over time following the evolution of emissions calculation methodologies, updates to the NZBA and SBTi guidelines, updating of data sources and market practices. Metrics and data are based on sector estimates and strategic plans of the entities in scope. Such assumptions may largely depend on external factors that are not under the direct control of Intesa Sanpaolo, such as, but not limited to, technological improvements and/or government policies. Furthermore, the calculation of metrics is based on data, the quality and availability of which is subject to change and may be improved over time. Please note that progress towards achieving the targets may not be linear in the short term due to the need for financing for the transition to a low-carbon economy or due to external factors.

In October 2022, Intesa Sanpaolo’s wealth management companies, Eurizon Capital SGR, Fideuram Asset Management SGR, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac and the Intesa Sanpaolo Vita Insurance Group, have set their respective targets as part of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI) and the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA).  
The commitments made by joining the NZAMI fall into four action areas:

1.    Asset Level Alignment Target, whereby the asset managers undertake to identify the portfolio of assets, i.e., the In-Scope Portfolio ¹, that will be managed with the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Based on its research, Eurizon reported an In-Scope Portfolio of €67.5 billion, equal to 15.39% of its AUM at 31 December 2021. In the same period, Fideuram Asset Management’s In-Scope Portfolio¹ was €7.9 billion, equal to 13.86% of its AUM, while Fideuram Asset Management Ireland’s totalled €13.1 billion, equal to 29.79% of its AUM. 

2.    Portfolio Level Reference Target, which reflects the intermediate targets for the In-Scope Portfolio to be achieved by 2030. The asset management companies Eurizon ², Fideuram Asset Management and Fideuram Asset Management Ireland³ have announced their goal of halving financed emissions - expressed in terms of intensity - by 2030 compared to the baseline year (2019), as required by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), through actions that include investing in climate solutions in addition to stewardship & engagement activities. 

3.    Stewardship and Engagement Target, which is a commitment to establish solid engagement plans with investee companies that incentivise them to implement effective decarbonisation pathways. In this context, Eurizon has set the goal of engaging 48 companies (covering 70% of the In-Scope Portfolio’s financed emissions) by 2025 and another 107 companies by 2029 (to reach 90% of financed emissions) focusing on issuers in sectors that are considered “material” for decarbonisation. Fideuram Asset Management has estimated that it will need to engage 53 companies by 2025 in order to reach its target of covering 70% of financed emissions, and 165 companies by 2030 (to reach 90% of financed emissions). In turn, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland must reach out to 66 companies by 2025 (70% of financed emissions) and 195 by 2030 (to cover 90% of financed emissions). 

4.    Investment in Climate Solutions, whose signatories commit to increasing their investments in environmentally sustainable activities. In setting this target, Eurizon considered projects that can be financed with green bonds, estimating that around 4% (versus 1.53% at the end of 2021) of all AUM could be invested in green bonds by 2025. Fideuram Asset Management and Fideuram Asset Management Ireland estimate that, by 2025, approximately 1% and 4% of their AUM, respectively, will be invested in projects financed by green bonds. 

For the Intesa Sanpaolo Vita Insurance Group, the intermediate targets for the NZAOA fall into the following three action areas: 

1)    Sub-Portfolio: cutting the emissions of “Direct Investments” - for the Listed Equity and Publicly Traded Corporate Bond asset classes - equal to 50% of the Carbon Intensity by EVIC by 2030, considering 2021 as the baseline year. At 31 December 2021, AUM of €19.6 billion are subject to the target.

2)    Engagement: two-way discussions with the top 20 issuers, which account for about 70% of the emissions in the Insurance Group’s In-Scope Portfolio - with the end aim of evaluating, discussing and enabling their respective decarbonisation pathways and strategies. The Group will also cooperate with the NZAOA by sharing input for collaborative position papers on related topics.

3)    Financing the Transition: commitment to report annually to the NZAOA on the amount of investments supporting the green transition (Climate Solution Reporting).  At 31 December 2021, the investments supporting the transition accounted for roughly 5% of the Group’s In-Scope Portfolio (Direct and Indirect Investments). Additionally, the Group will contribute to one of the Financing the Transition working groups to promote the development and awareness of new green investment solutions, reporting standards and possible new methodologies for similar issues.

¹ Portfolio referring to specific asset classes - listed equity and corporate fixed income - envisaged by NZAMI.

² Target calculated as the intensity of Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions (from sources that are controlled or owned by the company) and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions (generated by the energy purchased and consumed by the company) compared to the issuer’s EVIC (Enterprise Value Including Cash).

³ Target calculated as the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions of "Scope 1" (deriving from sources owned or controlled by the company) and "Scope 2" (generated by the energy purchased and consumed by the company) compared to the EVIC (Enterprise Value Including Cash, i.e. the market value of the issuer including cash).

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 prepared its first TCFD Report and in 2023 it published, concurrently with the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement (DCNF), the 2022 TCFD Report which also includes the transition plan (drafted in compliance with the requirements of the NZBA and following the indications of the GFANZ -Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero) and the first monitoring of the targets included in the Plan and related to the NZBA. In October 2023, following the completion of the Task Force's mission, the IFRS Foundation, on the recommendation of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), assumed responsibility for monitoring the progress of companies in terms of disclosure of climate information. The 2023 edition was therefore renamed Climate Report and was published at the same time as the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement. The Climate Report includes the progress recorded in 2023, which highlights a decrease of more than 22%, compared to 2022, in absolute financed emissions in the targeted sectors. Furthermore, the transition plan was further developed by establishing, for each targeted sector, high-level actions aimed at achieving the objectives ("Sectoral Transition Plan").

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 2023 Intesa Sanpaolo  was included in CDP’s Climate Leadership band with score A-.

CDP Questionnaire Archive