On International Day of Forests, we want to explain Banco Sabadell‘s contribution to the global effort to protect these vital spaces, which are so important on so many levels for the planet. A collaboration that operates through the purchase of carbon credits by the Bank, a further step to support reforestation and offsetting of our internal carbon footprint in 2023. With the support of these reforestation projects, we make a contribution to reducing erosion, the conservation of biodiversity and the generation of local jobs.
With the loss of more than ten million hectares each year through the disappearance of woods, innovative technology is essential to the fight against deforestation. The UN has made that clear through the International Day of Forests on 21 March, intended to become a call to political, business and community action under the strap line “Forests and innovation: new solutions for a better world”.
In that context, Banco Sabadell is again supporting the creation of woods in Spain working with CO2 Revolution, a start-up breaking new ground in reforestation through the latest advances in biotechnology (drones, intelligent seeds and Big Data), combined with traditional approaches based on planting by hand.
CO2 Revolution’s technology does not just support reforestation of large areas of land quickly and efficiently, it has a series of additional advantages.
For example, drones can provide access to areas that are hard to access of planting by hand, whilst intelligent seeds ensure higher germination and survival rates of the plants.
Their Big Data system also allows them to monitor the growth of a wood and identify problems in time, which optimises the management of reforestation projects.
This collaboration operates through the purchase of carbon credits by the Bank, which involves buying green credits and the offsetting of our internal carbon footprint. And that all goes to support two reforestation projects implemented by CO2 Revolution with certification from MITECO (Ministry for ecological transition and demographic challenge). Those projects also help to reduce erosion, and contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the generation of local jobs.
Both projects are located in the Concello de Cerdedo-Cotobade in Pontevedra (Galicia). Here are the details:
- Reforestation project located in Comunidad de Montes Vecinales en Mano Común de Borela this project has accelerated regeneration of the wood and boosted the proliferation of both animal and plant species and so facilitated stabilisation of the soil and improvements in the water cycle. The mix of species used in the replanting, conifers and deciduous trees, has allowed the block planting typical of plantations to be broken up. That mix makes for woodland areas that are likely to be more resilient to climate change and resistant to the spread of fire.
Reforestation project in Borela
Reforestation project located in Comunidad de Montes Vecinales en Mano Común de Carballedo. The focus of this project is the sustainable production of wood to meet demand from industry, so as to have a positive socio-economic impact on the local community, bringing significant environmental benefits that will help to mitigate the effects of climate change, contribute to the creation of a sustainable woodland landscape where natural regeneration has not been able to take hold, stabilise the soil and so promote succession and colonisation by native plants and animals.
Reforestation project in Carballedo
Through all its sustainability initiatives taken together and this collaboration, Banco Sabadell has once again achieved its goal of net zero emissions by the Bank, set for 2021-2025 as part of its ESG plan Sabadell Sustainable Commitment and strengthened its commitment with the UN initiative, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), under which the decarbonisation of investment is an essential element of sustainable finance, and under which reforestation projects dovetail with this essential transformation. The NZBA comprises a group of world-leading banks that are committed to sustainable finance under an ambitious climate action plan for the transition to the green economy and initiatives to bring about zero emissions by 2050.
“Our commitment to the fight against climate change has the aim of achieving net zero emissions from our own operations by 2050,” said Elena Carrera, CEO and Sustainability and Efficiency Director at Banco Sabadell. “In 2023, we reduced our total carbon footprint in Spain by 45.6% relative to the 2019 baseline year, exceeding our original target of 36.1% by 2025. As well as supporting pioneering reforestation projects such as those of CO2 Revolution, we have also achieved a zero net internal carbon footprint thanks to energy management and reduced consumption.” Meeting those goals is part of the ‘Finance Initiative Principles’ in the places where the Bank operates and contributes to the goals set by the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) to help investors and clients in the transition to the green economy.
Juan Carlos Sesma, founder and CEO of CO2 Revolution, said that “through these actions Banco Sabadell demonstrates its commitment to the search for solutions for decarbonisation and is a role model and showing the way for its partners. Having trust in our methodology helps an industry as important as banking to play a leading role in the shift to sustainable finance.”
The reforestation of Banco Sabadell in collaboration with CO2 Revolution do not just have a positive environmental impact, they also have socio-economic benefits for local communities.
The creation of forestry jobs helps to reduce poverty and foments rural development, whilst improved water and air quality is beneficial to the health of the people.
As well as reforestation, Banco Sabadell is taking other measures to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainability. Those measures include:
- Investment in renewable energy.
- Promotion of energy efficiency.
- The development of sustainable products and services.
- Working with suppliers and clients to reduce their environmental impact.
Supporting its clients in their decarbonisation processes
Banco Sabadell also stands out for the support it offers its clients and other measures such as setting decarbonisation targets for 2030 in seven industries that are heavy emitters of CO2 (Electricity, Oil and Gas, Cement, Coal, Iron and Steel, Automotive and Aviation), and focused on transforming the large companies in the chain of production in each industry, whose transformation can have a greater impact on the reduction of global emissions.
On the other hand, the Bank is committed to devoting 65,000 million euros to sustainable finance solutions in 2021-2025, making available 15,000 million euros in 2023 for a cumulative total of 38,600 million euros, so achieving 59.5% of its 2025 target. The specialist focus of its solutions around energy saving, renewable energy projects, the circular economy and sustainable mobility for private clients, SMEs and large companies is also noteworthy.
The fight against deforestation and climate change demands a joint effort and just through working together and innovation we can build a greener and more sustainable future for the generations to come.
About CO2 Revolution
Certified as one of the top one hundred start-ups in the world at South Summit 2018 and top of the sustainable start-up rankings of the INSTITUTO COORDENADAS OF GOVERNANCE AND APPLIED ECONOMICS, CO2 Revolution provides services to communities and organisations that need to carry out replanting actions, such as institutions with the goal of offsetting their carbon footprint. CO2 Revolution is a pioneer in the green regeneration of woodland with a method that is a revolutionary at global scale, based on Big Data, drones and intelligent seeds technology, combined with traditional and mechanised systems, which opens the door to something previously unthinkable: reforesting large tracts of land within hours at low cost. A comprehensive model that also allows the growth of ecosystems to be monitored. For more information https://co2revolution.es.
