International Plastic Bag Free Day takes place on 3 June as a way to spread awareness on the need to eliminate the use of this single-use item that takes decades to break down.
In the last few years, measures have been taken to decrease single-use plastic bags, and in Spain plastic consumption went down by 93.7% in 2021 compared to 2019, which implies a consumption reduction from 71.06 tons of material in 2019 to 4.47 tons in 2021. Nonetheless, there is still lots of room for improvement.
At Banco Sabadell we are strongly committed to moving forward as a sustainable entity by decreasing our consumptions, plastic being one of them. Our goal is to become emission neutral on greenhouse gases (GHGs) and to continue decreasing our consumptions as part of our ESG strategy in the context of our #SabadellSustainabilityCommitment.
Currently, with our sights set on 2025, we are carrying out the analysis of the different materials used by the entity which contain plastic so as to replace them with more sustainable material. As a result, we estimate a reduction in emissions of 2% annually.
Likewise, in 2020 and 2021, we launched different plastic reduction or elimination plans:
- Elimination of plastics used in certain stationery and/or common use materials.
- Elimination of blister packs for coins.
- Elimination of the blue bag for urgent digitalisation.
- Elimination of notebook sleeves.
- Replacement of the plastic-coated blue event bag for brown kraft paper.
- Replacement of plastic coffee spoons for wooden ones.
- Replacement of the plastic window of the envelopes for a transparent paper window.
- Manufacture of cash transfer bags with a mixture of recycled (80%) and virgin (20%) plastic.
- Manufacture of shrink film with 56% sugar cane (organic material).
- Replacement of the corporate pen (100% plastic) for a kraft paper and wheat pulp alternative.
As far as waste management is concerned, we have internal procedures in place to ensure that plastic is removed and 100% recycled by authorised waste management companies.
At Banco Sabadell, we are firmly committed to sustainability, through a realistic, consistent and committed strategy, to continue being an active part of the transition towards a resilient, inclusive and low-emission economy.
