Piraeus Bank follows a specific policy concerning the environment and its implementation is based on two fundamental principles:
- Continual reduction of the environmental impacts caused by the Bank’s operation and business activities.
- Identifying and defining new business opportunities created for addressing present-day environmental issues: investments in clean technology, in energy-saving and in other sectors which stimulate the economy and create new jobs.
The key aim of these principles is for Piraeus Bank to become established as the main banking group specialized in green entrepreneurship.
The philosophy which defines the shaping of Piraeus Group’s environmental Policy is summarized by
the Executive Committee’s statement on sustainable growth on June 7, 2010.
According to this the Group’s economic, social and environmental activities should:
- Achieve, steady environmental quality and balance, with people and human dignity as the central pillar.
- Ensure sustainable –use of natural resources.
- Avoid irreparable damage to the environment, maintaining a livable future for the generations to come.
Sustainable Growth Statement
“We will support companies, organizations and projects that create added value by benefiting people and the environment. For this purpose we will support private individuals and investors who wish to adopt and promote corporate and individual social responsibility in the context of a sustainable society.
We therefore aspire to an economic development that can ensure a quality of life by focusing on human dignity without jeopardizing future environmental and social indices.”
Piraeus Group Executive Committee, June 7, 2010
Piraeus Bank adopted its Environmental Management Policy and has been abiding by it since 2003.
Its green commitment was reinforced in 2004 when in order to coordinate its environmental work the Environmental Office was created. This Office evolved into the Environmental Unit in 2009. In 2008, specific references to the targets of the environmental policy were made in the Bank’s the amended (2008) Articles of Association of the Bank . In 2010, emphasis was placed on Green banking and sustainable development . Furthermore, Piraeus Bank’s Climate Change Strategy was shaped with the aim of reducing the Bank’s environmental footprint and of assessing the risks as well as the opportunities that arise from climate change. Finally, a member of the BoD was appointed in charge of environmental issues. In 2009 , the Green Business General Division was established, comprising, among others, of the Green Banking Products Division and the 42 Green Branches in Greece. In 2011, the Office of Green Banking in Northern Greece was inaugurated in Thessaloniki.
