Case study: How Garanti BBVA promotes a culture of responsible banking among its employees

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.

Garanti BBVA incorporates its stakeholders’ concerns —stakeholders include customers, employees, shareholders, investors, suppliers, regulators, auditors, and society at large—on social and environmental issues, diversity, fiscal responsibility, human rights, and the prevention of corruption and other illegal activities into its business strategies, operations, and activities. The bank maintains ongoing dialogue with both external and internal stakeholders through different channels, and key issues are prioritized based on the feedback and insights gathered from these dialogues.

The bank has consistently been actively involved in numerous initiatives, working closely with all stakeholders. These initiatives focus on the following priority areas:

• Global Frameworks: Garanti BBVA and the BBVA Group are among the banks involved in establishing, promoting, and supporting the UNEP-FI Responsible Banking Principles. In 2023, Garanti BBVA also joined the main group responsible for shaping the 2030 strategy of the UNEP FI Responsible Banking Principles.
• Climate Commitments: Garanti BBVA is a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance supported by UNEP-FI, aligning its operations with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
• Market Standards: The bank supports key standards such as the Equator Principles, ICMA’s Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, LMA’s Green Credit Principles, and the EU Taxonomy, among others, developed by the banking sector.
• Transparency: Garanti BBVA publishes an integrated activity report aligned with the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards and includes a GRI Standards index.
• Regulatory Engagement: The bank actively participates in many consultative and advisory processes with regulatory and supervisory bodies, including the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Banks Association of Turkey, to support the development of sustainable finance regulations.

For over a decade, Garanti BBVA has actively engaged in various transnational initiatives. In addition to its commitment to the United Nations Global Compact and its status as a signatory of the UNEP FI, the bank has been involved in numerous sustainability-focused initiatives since 2012. It is a member of several working groups, including the United Nations Net-Zero Banking Association (NZBA), the United Nations Responsible Banking Principles Working Group, the Global Compact Turkey Group, SKD Turkey (Business World and Sustainable Development Association), the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB), the Role of the Financial Sector in Sustainable Growth Working Group, and the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) Environment and Climate Change Working Group. Throughout these efforts, Garanti BBVA maintains close cooperation with all key stakeholders—including industry players, regulators and supervisors, investors, and civil society organizations.

How does Garanti BBVA promote a culture of responsible banking among its employees?

In its 2024 PRB Impact Report Garanti BBVA reports that it took the following actions to promote a culture of responsible banking among its employees:

The BBVA Group has established a comprehensive global training program to equip its employees with the knowledge needed to tackle strategic sustainability challenges. Through the Campus BBVA training platform, two learning pathways are available to all employees, regardless of their location or role. Worldwide, over 102,000 BBVA employees have completed these courses, and by December 31, 2024, a total of 18,707 Garanti BBVA employees had received sustainability training, including the Principles for Responsible Banking introduced in 2020. The foundational sustainability training covers the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, the financial industry’s role, and the BBVA Group and Garanti BBVA’s strategic approach, while the advanced level delves into sustainable finance.

To ensure employees can effectively address sustainability within their respective roles, specialized training programs have been developed in collaboration with renowned international institutions. These include training on portfolio alignment and the use of internal tools such as the alignment dashboard based on PACTA methodology and the Transition Risk Indicator, supporting the Group’s decarbonization goals.

Responsible Banking practices are a key focus for Garanti BBVA, with senior management leading the initiative. Sustainability is one of the bank’s six strategic priorities, and EVPs, along with the CEO, serve on the Responsible Banking and Sustainability Committee, where various departments present updates on their sustainability projects. To foster ownership of the strategy, sustainability considerations have been integrated into the premium eligibility criteria for employees at all levels, starting with the Board of Directors.

Recognizing the importance of global collaboration in maintaining leadership in sustainable finance in Turkey, Garanti BBVA actively works to partner with peers and suppliers. The bank continues efforts to provide sustainability training to suppliers, aiming to clearly communicate its sustainability strategies and promote adherence to its standards.

Additionally, the bank leverages its communication channels, such as social media, to raise awareness on environmental and social issues, highlighting a different theme each month. As part of the Sustainable Habits initiative, Garanti BBVA shares best practices and innovative ideas from its employees to foster a culture of sustainability.

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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The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by Garanti BBVA, 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.garantibbvainvestorrelations.com/en/images/pdf/GBFR24_ENG_App6.pdf

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