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To find out more about the Group's sustainable development write to us at:
ESG@iccrea.bcc.it

The integral and circular sustainability of the BCC Iccrea Group

The SDGs– i.e. the 17 Sustainable Development Goals introduced by the UN's 2030 Agenda – represent a coherent, concrete and modern translation of the mutualist activities that BCCs have been implementing for more than a century for the social, economic and environmental well-being of their communities.

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Mutualism, the founding value of our banks, is also the concrete embodiment of the Principle of Integral Ecology, i.e. the interconnection between the “S” (Social) and “E” (Environmental) factors of ESG.* A translation of the concepts also expressed in Pope Francis's 2015 Encyclical “Laudato Sì”.

*ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, the three central factors for measuring sustainability.

Integral ecology thus becomes the paradigm capable of bringing together environmental phenomena and problems with economic and social issues. Our reference is the image of the ecosystem: the concept of caring for the environment as a synonym for protecting the community and people, where ecological and social goals are part of the same strategy.

In keeping with what is summarised in the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) definition of integral ecology and Green Economy we are aware – now more than ever – that environmental imbalances have strong social impacts on both global and local economies, and consequently on public and private welfare.

It is with attention and interest towards these issues that, in the age of the Green Deal, one of the priorities of the BCC Iccrea Group is to contribute to an inclusive ecological transition process that, through the adoption of the European Leave no one behind, principle, allows our banks to continue to be a fundamental point of reference for the country.

This method of banking, based on the circularity of financial resources and the elimination of their geographical dispersion, is in fact a model of Circular Finance, comparable to that of the Circular Economy, based on the concept of zero dispersion of natural capital.

The Credito Cooperativo cooperative credit banking model was born 130 years ago according to a logic that was innovative at the time: the non-dispersion of resources, and sharing.

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A different business model

We believe that the historical phase we are currently experiencing is a challenge for the BCC Iccrea Group, which through its BCCs has always been committed to the sustainable growth of local communitiesIt has become more urgent than ever to contribute to the evolution of the current business model, moving towards one that is profoundly oriented towards the new concept of sustainability and new metrics.

To foster this evolution, our Group wants to establish a grand social agreement that places communities at the centre of the country's development. In fact, community capitalism not only means focusing on specific sectors – such as, for example, assistance, care for people and places, tourism, the agricultural supply chain, the last mile of food distribution, etc. – but also guaranteeing the community’s prospects for growth and development: an essential process for a sustainable native banking group that is strongly rooted in the local communities.

We are aware that there is a need to move away from “short termism” in order to offer hope to the environment, to the preservation of our communities and to all ESG issues in general.

To do this, we have adopted a working method that starts with an analysis of the new economic and social context, the new trends, the new global and local challenges and the new needs of our communities. We want to provide new answers but with a local spirit, the same spirit that characterised the first BCCs, founded at the end of the 19th century, to assist the most disadvantaged and marginalised categories of the country's economic and production system.

Sustainability is now a must for all economic actors, including banks. Being a BCC of the BCC Iccrea Group is an added value, which commits us to even higher goals.

Strategic levers

Taking our cue from the most evident socio-economic transformations of this period, we have identified four strategic levers with which to support the evolution of the business model and strengthen the difference that has distinguished us as a primary player in local sustainable development for more than a century. These are levers that, according to Change Theory, can be considered transformative:

  • Promote cooperation to combat the uprooting of society and the feeling of mistrust, counteracting disinterest in the common good, proposing cooperative models as a viable alternative to the management of environmental assets, counterbalancing the standardisation of models and fostering a financial and entrepreneurial culture attentive to sustainability and digitisation.
  • Reward those who work for the common good in order to invest in transformation, meritocracy, social inclusion and ecological transition, valuing BCCs as banks that are not only people-friendly, but that pursue the common good by creating value for the community.
  • Direct solidarity towards the promotion of structural transformations, according to a long-term vision also in favour of those groups that cannot expose themselves to credit or investment.
  • Strengthen the level of proximity in local and social domains to rebuild a connective tissue capable of restoring value to the concept of community, slowing marginalisation processes in local production, social and cultural systems.