Intesa Sanpaolo is a member of the business communities that support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Recognising the close connection of some of these objectives with its own business, Intesa Sanpaolo has identified the most significant projects and activities already in progress, witnessing their contribution to the generation of positive change at a global level.
BANK THE UNBANKED
Over the years, Alexbank has developed several products dedicated to individuals who would have no access to banking to improve living and working conditions in the poorest areas of the country. This commitment is part of a dedicated project – “Bank the Unbanked” – which provides for the development and integration of three lines of intervention for this type of customer: micro-deposits, which include new savings products at attractive rates, a dedicated debit card and the halving of charges on all additional services (more than 700 accounts opened, with deposits of nearly 177 thousand euro); expansion of micro business, with a network of local supporting specialists; creation of a mobile wallet platform. Moreover, the offer to support small and very small businesses, available since 2008 with several dedicated branches, operating in close contact with these individuals to help them develop their business, continued. Overall, micro-credit activities led to around 38 million euro of loans in 2016 (45.6 million euro in 2015). See page 75
MATERIAL ISSUE: FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
BUSINESS ISSUE: ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES
USE OF RENEWABLE SOURCES
In 2016, 80% of the electricity used by the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, which is committed to gradually reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, came from renewable sources. In particular, in Italy, the percentage reached was equal to around 97%, with over 110,000 tonnes of CO2 per year avoided, thanks to the use of electricity certified with a Guarantee of Origin from renewable sources, and own production of over 1,000 MWh from photovoltaic plants. The cogeneration plant at the Parma EDP centre produced a limited amount of energy, equal to around 3% of total consumption in Italy. Vedi pag. 127
MATERIAL ISSUE: CLIMATE CHANGE
BUSINESS ISSUE: RENEWABLE ENERGY
8 DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
INTESA SANPAOLO'S EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION
Employment is one of the priority areas in which we are working to motivate and engage people in terms of flexibility, efficiency and productivity. An important objective of the 2014-2017 Business Plan is the reallocation of 4,500 members of staff in order to achieve strategic plans, without cutting jobs.
In 2016 the Group recruited 4,100 people (1,098 in Italy and 3,023 abroad). At a Group level the number of female staff accounted for 54% (53% in 2015) and investment in the future through the introduction of young resources continued in line with company objectives. Vedi pag. 103
MATERIAL ISSUE: JOB PROTECTION POLICIES
BUSINESS ISSUE: EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING AND PROMOTION OF NEW ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Intesa Sanpaolo is a strategic partner to Piccola Industria Confindustria in the “AdottUP” project for the adoption of start-ups. It turns the best entrepreneurial ideas into sustainable businesses thanks to the training provided by established companies which become their “tutors” and guide them through their development. As part of funding for new business activities, 235 initiatives were supported in 2016, for 87.6 million euro, of which 46.5 million earmarked for 48 start-ups for research and development projects with Nova+ funding. Vedi pag. 63
MATERIAL ISSUE: SOSTEGNO AL TESSUTO IMPRENDITORIALE
BUSINESS ISSUE: YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
9 INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
TECH MARKETPLACE
This promotes interaction between start-ups, SMEs and large companies, allowing technological start-ups and SMEs to offer their innovations to larger firms, thereby facilitating the meeting of supply and demand for technological innovation, with the aim of creating partnerships, commercial agreements and acquisitions.
In 2016, the platform had over 5,000 businesses on the demand side, and over 1,200 profiles on the technological supply side comprising start-ups and tech SMEs grouped into about ten different sectors, including energy, software, telecommunications, transport, the food and agricultural industry and fashion. Vedi pag. 112
MATERIAL ISSUE: SUPPORT FOR THE BUSINESS SYSTEM
BUSINESS ISSUE: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES
Intesa Sanpaolo's strategy includes actions to adapt to climate change that has already taken place. In recent years we have witnessed extreme atmospheric events at a global level that have had considerable impact on the Bank’s structures and on the activities and daily lives of customers. Knowing how to assess and manage these risks is therefore increasingly important. In particular, Intesa Sanpaolo supports families and economic operators damaged by bad weather and climatic emergencies, through specific loans with favourable terms and the suspension of repayments on existing loans. Vedi pag. 120
MATERIAL ISSUE: CLIMATE CHANGE
BUSINESS ISSUE: RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES DERIVING FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
LOANS FOR THE GREEN ECONOMY
Loans for corporate, small business and retail customer segments wishing to invest in energy savings and renewable sources continued in 2016.
Over 1.7 billion euro was disbursed, accounting for 3.1% of total loans. Vedi pag. 122
MATERIAL ISSUE: CLIMATE CHANGE
BUSINESS ISSUE: RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES DERIVING FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
16 PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION
The Bank has adopted strict internal procedures over time to prevent the risk of corruption and extortion. In addition to specific provisions in the Code of Ethics, the Group's Internal Code of Conduct and the Compliance Programme pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001 on the administrative liability of entities, a detailed set of internal regulations has been established, which all personnel must be familiar and comply with. These regulations govern in detail corporate processes that may potentially lead to this type of offence being committed. The Compliance, Audit and Internal Control Departments must ensure ongoing consistency between the control and conduct principles on corruption in the Compliance Programme and internal regulations in force, also ensuring compliance with said principles. In 2016, a specific anti-corruption project was set up to consolidate the internal monitoring of customer and Bank activities, with the approval of Guidelines on Anti-Corruption and the Identification of a Group Anti-Corruption Officer in March 2017. Vedi pag. 82
MATERIAL ISSUE: INTEGRITY AND RIGOUR IN CORPORATE CONDUCT
BUSINESS ISSUE: ANTI-CORRUPTION