During these days, World Water Week is celebrated globally. It’s an activity programme organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) for the past 30 years, with the aim of highlighting the importance of implementing the necessary measures across all sectors to preserve this natural resource, which is essential for life and to which many people still don’t have easy access. In this article, we explain the measures that Banco Sabadell has implemented in our daily operations, as well as our collaboration with Kick Out Plastic and the creation of the Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Marine Sustainability.
In July 2010, the UN General Assembly recognised the right of all people to water and sanitation. This implies that each person should have access to a sufficient amount of water for domestic use of between 50 and 100 litres per day. However, in many countries around the world, hospitals lack clean running water. It’s estimated that 4 out of 10 people on the planet are affected by water scarcity.
At the same time, our planet, especially the seas and oceans, faces a severe plastic problem. That is why it’s important to act, and it must be done immediately. Aware of this challenge, and as previously announced, Banco Sabadell has incorporated a series of measures into its corporate strategy for the coming years, with twin objectives:
- Advancing as a sustainable institution, respectful of the environment.
- Collaborating with companies by providing financing on favourable terms for initiatives with the same goal.
The set of measures that are part of Sabadell’s Commitment to Sustainability can be viewed here.
Reduction of plastic in our corporate centres
Since the launch of this new corporate strategy, we have already achieved some goals that, while undoubtedly still not yet sufficient, we find significant. Focusing on those aimed at reducing plastic use, which, as mentioned, is a major challenge for the marine environment, we can highlight the following:
- We have internal procedures in place to ensure that 100% of paper and plastic is removed and recycled by authorised waste management companies.
- We have selective collection of packaging, organics and batteries at our corporate centres and offices.
- We are reducing the use of materials (plastic and paper), optimising waste management and the reuse of technological equipment. If we analyse these numbers in detail, our plastic consumption in 2022 was 3.4 tonnes, with a 23% reduction compared to 2021, and 95% compared to 2019. For the 2022-2025 period, a progressive analysis of various materials containing plastic will be carried out, and they will be replaced with sustainable materials. In Spain, a reduction in emissions of 2% annually is estimated.
Collaboration with Kick Out Plastic
In another context, and as also previously announced, Banco Sabadell has been collaborating with Kick Out Plastic for three years, an organisation working towards a more sustainable world. This initiative is supported by various elite athletes and former athletes, such as Marcos Senna, Ferran Torres Pedri, Omar Mascarell and Ivana Andrés, just to name a few. One of their main lines of work is to raise funds for projects aimed at removing plastic from the oceans, using the powerful leverage provided by the sports world. This organisation was also one of the beneficiaries of the Aces Solidarios in its 2022 edition.
Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Marine Sustainability
Finally, and with the same goal, the Banco Sabadell Foundation annually awards a prize aimed at encouraging and recognising the work of Spanish scientists in the field of marine sustainability. In its latest edition, it was awarded to Dr. Oihane C. Basurko.
These are some of the initiatives we already have under way to contribute, to the best of our ability, to such an important collective effort as the protection and conservation of the planet’s water resources and the fight to ensure that water reaches everyone. As we mentioned earlier, we still have a long way to go. But we are committed to making every effort necessary to ensure our contribution is as effective as possible.
