Caixa Geral de Depósitos was founded in 1876. It is the only state-owned Portuguese bank and heads the country's largest financial group. The CGD Group operates in different areas, including commercial banking, asset management, specialised credit, insurance, investment banking and venture capital and is present in four continents. Retail banking operations are the responsibility of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, S.A., which has a distribution network of more than 800 branches and Caixa Empresas (Caixa Company) offices in Portugal and offers a variety of financial products and services for households, companies and institutions.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos, S.A. is aware that sustainable development practices in the bank's everyday management are an integral part of the mission of financial institutions and therefore:
- Recognises that the environment is a decisive factor in the creation of value and sustainable business and supports and strengthens its strategy, brand and corporate values.
- Is aware of its responsibility for preserving the environment and manages and monitors the direct and indirect impacts of its activities, products and services.
- Fosters the participation of stakeholders and considers their concerns and values when making decisions.
Scope
Our Environmental Policy applies to all Caixa Geral de Depósitos, S.A. activities, products and services in Portugal. We plan to extend its scope of application to the other companies in the CGD Group.
Commitments
CGD's commitment to promoting good sustainability in the financial sector is made clear by its participation in a number of international projects and networks. For example, it joined the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP–FI) in 2009 and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2008.
The commitments that CGD has made in its environmental policy are based on three fundamental pillars: i) compliance with environmental legislation and other requirements, even exceeding them in some areas, ii) a proactive attitude to preventing pollution and iii) ongoing improvement in environmental performance.
Environmental goals and targets will be periodically set and revised in the different areas of activity with significant environmental aspects and impacts.
Areas of intervention
CGD's environmental policy is based on the following guidelines:
- Implement an environmental management system in order to pursue environmental policy goals.
- Promote eco-efficiency in operations, minimise the consumption of materials, energy and other natural resources and respect waste management rules.
- Continue to implement our Caixa Carbono Zero (Caixa Zero Carbon) Programme, which embodies CGD's strategy for climate change.
- Offer and promote financial products and services with a positive impact on the environment.
- Promote the incorporation of environmental criteria in credit risk analysi.
- Include environmental criteria in the selection of suppliers, act as an agent of change in the value chain and work with suppliers and corporate customers in managing risks and improving their environmental performance.
- Play an active role in society's response to environmental problems such as climate change, shortage of resources and conservation of biodiversity and seek partners that share the same values.
- Actively involve employees in implementing our environmental policy, particularly via awareness raising and environmental training.
- Promote environmental literacy in society, by involving stakeholders and raising their awareness, encouraging scientific research and disseminating good environmental and sustainability practices.
Communication
Regular communication and reporting of CGD's environmental performance and management practices are essential to meeting goals and ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders. The progress achieved in our environmental policy will be reported via different communication channels, including CGD's annual sustainability report.
Governance
CGD's environmental policy is one of the lines of action of its sustainability strategy. The responsibility for implementing it and the underlying governance model articulates with the CGD units in charge of sustainability. The bodies with strategic duties in this area include the Board of Directors, as the maximum manager of environmental policy and the Sustainability Board, which is in charge of monitoring and strategic reflection. In operational terms, the responsibility for implementing our environmental policy lies with the Sustainability Coordination Team and then working group appointed to pursue CGD’s community goals.
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