Case study: How Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

Each year, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar conducts a materiality assessment to identify the economic, social, and environmental issues that are priorities for its stakeholders and its business operations. This process relies on continuous dialogue with society at large and local communities. In 2023, the Group implemented a double materiality assessment in line with the recommendations of the new Directive, incorporating an analysis of stakeholder situations reported in the previous year’s assessment. This involved reviewing and categorizing stakeholders, taking into consideration their levels of interest and influence on the Group.

As part of this process, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar distributed surveys to various stakeholders to gauge the significance they assign to each identified impact. A total of 8,437 surveys were sent out, yielding 377 responses. The findings are incorporated into the materiality assessment. Additionally, the Group maintains active communication with regulators and investors, leads multiple sustainability initiatives and meeting platforms, and plays a significant role in sustainability-related matters.

How did Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar work with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities?

In its 2023 Sustainability Report Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar currently serves 3.8 million customers and is dedicated to providing financial solutions that foster economic development and social progress for its members, clients, and the communities in which it operates. This commitment is guided by a distinctive strategy rooted in the principles of cooperation, the social economy, and sustainable development. To express the ethical and social values, principles, and standards that govern the Group’s actions, it has established an Ethical Management System, which embodies the essence of the Group’s corporate culture.

The Ethical Management System serves as the framework guiding the development and implementation of various policies, measures, and tools designed to protect the interests of customers while ensuring transparency and quality in the products and services offered. The Group’s Code of Conduct directs the daily actions and behaviours of employees, executive agents, and management bodies within the organization.

On a broader scale, the Sustainability Policy outlines the guiding objectives for sustainability within the Group. One key aim, aligned with the identified impact areas, is to advance effective risk management, promote inclusive finance, and enhance financial education, thereby supporting sustainable agriculture.

Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar also emphasizes the importance of its sectoral policy. Its primary goal is to segment the investment portfolio based on two criteria: relevance in the strategy of each sector and its level of decarbonisation. This segmentation establishes various areas to define specific criteria and measures for investment, approval, and monitoring, laying the groundwork for implementing the Group’s decarbonisation strategy and redirecting investments toward more sustainable projects.

In terms of governance, the Sustainability and Agri-Food Development Division is represented on the institution’s Steering Committee, and reports (directly or through one of its delegated committees, in this case, through the Strategy and Sustainability Committee) on sustainability-related risks and opportunities—particularly those concerning climate and environmental aspects—to the Board of Directors of BCC, which is the Group’s top governing body. This Division is responsible for advocating for tools that support members and clients in their sustainability and ecological transition efforts.

To ensure that ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria are fully integrated into its management strategy, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar is firmly committed to the training of its staff in these areas. This initiative not only represents an investment in skill development but also provides robust support to the Group’s members and clients during the ongoing ecological transition. By training its employees in these principles, the Group aims to strengthen its internal expertise while effectively assisting members and clients in navigating this critical period of transition to more sustainable practices. Ultimately, training serves as a strategic mechanism to promote coherence and excellence in business management in alignment with ESG criteria.

The Group employs a comprehensive model for risk measurement, management, and control that aligns with its business strategy, its nature and organisational configuration, and geographical reach.

Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar integrates ESG criteria throughout its strategy and business model with two key objectives: to adhere to internationally recognized standards and to achieve positive differentiation in sustainability. To reach these goals, specialized organizational units have been established within each of the defense lines. Risk analysis and approvals shall take into consideration the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors of applicants, as well as their potential impact on business continuity and loan repayment.

Additionally, the Group has established non-financial metrics related to climate change and other environmental issues. These metrics will enable the Group to manage risks during the decarbonisation of the economy and the broader ecological transition. They also facilitate a more nuanced understanding of their potential impacts across various business lines and sectors within the portfolio.

Projects developed at Cajamar’s Experimentation Centres focus on promoting sustainable development by mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and encouraging production intensification, maintaining quality and reducing emissions. The agrifood training agenda created by Grupo Cajamar, which is freely accessible, aims to enhance the professional development of members, clients, and other stakeholders, featuring sessions led by university specialists, technicians, and recognized experts. The agenda includes two types of events: technical seminars or online sessions (webinars) aimed at technicians and professionals in the production sector, and business meetings that concentrate on management and marketing, addressing the significant challenges facing the industry from the perspectives of ecological transition and digital transformation.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

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References:

This case study is based on published information by Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.bcc.es/storage/documents/informe-integrado-0315f.pdf

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