Third anniversary of the Principles for Responsible Banking

Intesa Sanpaolo in 2019 was among the first banks to have adhered to the Principles for Responsible Banking - PRB of UNEP FI, the section of the UN Environment Program dedicated to financial institutions.

Today, the PRB have reached their third anniversary and are well established as the main banking initiative linked to sustainability on a global level, subscribed by about 300 banks in 80 countries around the world (+ 120% since the launch of the initiative), which represent almost the 50% of the world banking sector.
These are six principles to guide the banking sector towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement, which concern: 

• governance and alignment of corporate strategies and objectives 
• support for customers who promote sustainability 
• involvement with stakeholders 
• monitoring the application of the principles 
• transparency on the results achieved.

Intesa Sanpaolo annually reports to all its stakeholders, in a dedicated section of the Consolidated Non-financial Statement, the initiatives carried out and the progress achieved in the implementation of the PRB.
The commitment is also reflected in the involvement in working groups dedicated to Impact Analysis, Reporting and Assurance, to make continuous improvements in the sustainable path of the global banking system.

Adherence to the Principles for Responsible Banking is part of a broader commitment, which sees Intesa Sanpaolo as one of the few European financial groups to have adhered to all the main United Nations initiatives regarding the financial sector in the field of sustainability and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: in addition to the PRB, the Principles for Responsible Investment, the Principles for Sustainable Insurance and the Women's Empowerment Principles, for the promotion of gender equality and women's professional development. The Group also joined, during the last quarter of 2021, all the Net-Zero alliances promoted by the UNEP Finance Initiative: Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI), Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZOA) and Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA).