Santander Bank Polska Becomes a Strategic Partner to the Green Ribbon #ForThePlanet” Awareness Campaign in 2020
On June 5th we celebrate World Environment Day. This is also when the third edition of the „Green Ribbon #For the Planet” campaign will start and continue until the end of the year. The initiator of the campaign is the UNEP/GRID-Warsaw Centre, which implements the mission of the UN Environment Programme in Poland. Santander Bank Polska has once again become a strategic partner of the campaign.
Research shows that the level of environmental knowledge in Poland is still low. Only 10% of respondents assess their knowledge in this area as very good. The positive thing is that at the same time we are willing to learn more about actions that we can take to protect the environment. In order to do real activities for the benefit of the Earth, we need to have a good insight into existing problems. The main goal of the „Green Ribbon for the Planet” campaign is precisely education and raising awareness of the most important environmental challenges.
The campaign is a unique opportunity for joint discussion and reflection, which is often left out of the public debate. We are glad to be a member of this initiative. Thanks to it, we can realize our common goal of education. This is particularly important today in a world where the pace of climate change is accelerating significantly and the effects are no longer felt from generation to generation, but within the lifetime of a single person.
”Let's Save Nature, Let's Save Ourselves”
The motto of this year’s global celebration of World Environment Day is a reminder that the year 2020 belongs to nature: „Time For Nature”. The main idea behind this year’s World Environment Day and the year-long #ForThePlanet campaign is the call „Let’s Save Nature, Let’s Save Ourselves” and the theme is biodiversity. The initiators of the action emphasize that the planet’s biodiversity is extremely important. Impairment of biodiversity can cause much more serious problems than the disappearance of one species of plants or animals from Earth. Disruption of ecosystems can have a whole range of undesirable effects. These include: a weakening of the natural capacity of forests and peatlands to absorb greenhouse gases, and even a growing risk of the spread of already known – and new – zoonoses, which, as the current epidemiological situation shows, can lead to global crises. Around 60% of human infectious diseases originate in the animal world, and too much interference with the environment can have even more negative consequences.
Make ECO commitment
The main activity promoted under the „Green Ribbon” campaign is making ECO commitments. These are simple challenges which may significantly improve the state of the natural environment in Poland. Examples include growing insect-friendly plants on the balcony, choosing ecological products during everyday shopping, or promoting the creation of a composter in your neighbourhood. A list of ECO commitments is available at https://www.dlaplanety.pl/. This year, Santander Bank Polska has engaged its ambassador, actor Marcin Dorociński to encourage people to make ECOcommittments.
We invite you to join the action and make your own ECO commitments, even small ones, to help us improve the quality of our daily lives. At Santander Bank Polska, we have been running and developing numerous projects to prevent the deepening of the climate crisis. The main pillar of all those activities are environmental protection initiatives. Since the beginning of 2019, our bank has been even more strongly involved in the implementation of green solutions not only in the external environment, but also inside the organization.
As of January 2020, Santander Bank Polska buys only green electricity. It has also committed itself not to finance new coal-fired power units and new coal mines associated with them, and by 2030 a total reduction in the bank’s exposure to coal producers is planned. Moreover, in September 2019, the Bank provided the first ESG-linked (Environmental, Social and Governance) financing in Poland, based on the assessment of the borrower’s commitment to sustainable development and responsible business. Additionally, the bank is strongly involved in the transformation of the Polish energy sector and contributes to increasing the share of energy from renewable sources.
We are progressively increasing our role in the process of an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy, so we support and accompany our customers in the energy transition by financing those projects that significantly reduce their negative impact on the environment and society, and by withdrawing from financing harmful projects.
The bank’s companies are also constantly developing their „green” proposal. The net value of green assets financed by Santander Leasing last year amounted to PLN 150 million.
At the same time, the bank also tries to support the environment by reducing paper consumption and encourages its customers to do the same. Giving up paper correspondence reduces the production of carbon dioxide as much as seven times – one email generates only 4 grams of CO2, while a paper letter as much as 29 grams of CO2. That is why Santander Bank Polska runs a regular campaign to raise awareness among customers on how to be more eco-friendly by using electronic banking or electronic forms of contact with the bank. What’s more, for all printed advertising materials the bank uses 100% recycled paper exclusively.
