Environmental impact of operations

  • GRI:
  • Materials used by weight or volume 301-1
    Materials used by weight or volume
  • Energy consumption within the organization302-1
    Energy consumption within the organization
  • 303-1
  • Total direct greenhouse gas emissions 305-1
    Total direct greenhouse gas emissions
  • Total indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight 305-2
    Total indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight
  • Other indirect greenhouse gas emissions305-3
    Other indirect greenhouse gas emissions
  • ESG:
  • Our approach to the environmentE- Enviroment
    Our approach to the environment
  • TCFD:
  • The company's dependence on natural capitalKE/TCFD
    The company's dependence on natural capital
  • Climate-related targets, including greenhouse gas emission targetsKE/TCFD
    Climate-related targets, including greenhouse gas emission targets
  • PRB:
  • We will continuously increase our positive impacts while reducing the negative impacts on, and managing the risks to, people and environment resulting from our activities, products and services.2 Impact
    We will continuously increase our positive impacts while reducing the negative impacts on, and managing the risks to, people and environment resulting from our activities, products and services.
  • GPW:
  • Greenhouse gas emissionsE-P1
    Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Energy consumptionE-P2
    Energy consumption
  • Emissions managementE-S2
    Emissions management
  • Water consumptionE-S3
    Water consumption
  • Pollution and wasteE-S6
    Pollution and waste

The emission levels associated with our operations in 2021, together with the methodology adopted to calculate them, are presented in the Environmental Performance subsection and more detailed information can be found in the TCFD Report under Metrics and Targets.

Electricity consumption in 2020 and 2021

Electricity consumption [MWh] 2020 2021
Total electricity consumption 29,917.00 26,449.30
of which: total energy consumption from non-renewable resources 11,078.86 14,174.30
of which from:
natural gas 9,408.64 12,399.38
fuel oil 1,351.41 1,549.37
Diesel oil 318.81 225.55
  • In 2021, 81% of the electricity purchased by the bank for its buildings was from a contract providing energy exclusively from RES.
  • We also received an accession certificate for the Tauron Group’s ECO Premium product. The document confirms that the electricity sold to us is entirely covered by the Green Energy Sales Guarantee scheme and comes from green energy sources – mainly hydroelectric power plants.
  • In 2021, the bank’s electricity consumption decreased by 8.8% compared to the level in 2020.
  • In 2021, we continued to upgrade the lighting in the bank’s branches – 60% of branches use energy-efficient LED lighting, of which 42 were upgraded in 2021. We upgraded air conditioning and ventilation systems in some branches, and central heating systems were upgraded in 4 of our own properties.
  • We have reduced diesel consumption by almost four times compared to 2020.

The bank’s car fleet.

2020 2021
Number of petrol cars 85 13
Number of diesel cars 7 2
Number of hybrid/electric cars 1,303 1,308

In 2021, we reduced the number of petrol and diesel cars by as much as 85%.

Business travel

Indicator 2019 2020 2021
Number of business trips per employee 3.17 1.55 0.60

We are effectively reducing business travel to the necessary minimum. The large decrease in 2021 was influenced by our policy and the ongoing pandemic.

Reductions in diesel and petrol consumption associated with business travel using the bank’s car fleet in 2021

Diesel consumption (in l) 8 563.52
Reduction in diesel consumption versus 2020 -23,317.93
Petrol consumption (l) 1,446,502
Reduction in petrol consumption versus 2020 -53,431.48
Average fuel consumption per employee 127.94
  • In 2021, we significantly reduced our diesel and petrol consumption, which contributed to a reduction in our direct emissions (Scope 1).
  • Average fuel consumption per employee fell by 4%.

Paper consumption

Paper consumption 2020 2021
Branch banking [tonnes] 186 177
Head Office buildings [tonnes] 34 19
  • As part of #ecoSantander, we are consistently reducing paper consumption.
  • We are promoting e-signing of agreements among customers. In 2021, 92% of customers opted for e-statements, and more than half of transactions in branches were carried out without using paper.
  • We have implemented internal procedures to send documents to customers electronically. We are also eliminating paper archiving in favour of electronic archiving.

Paper waste and other waste, including electronic data carriers (disposal)

Type of waste Head Office Branches Total
Paper [kg] 684,121 532,439 1,216,560
Magnetic data carriers [kg] 12,120 1,650 13,770
  • We send 100% of the abovementioned materials for safe destruction and then for recycling.
  • We have already phased out the purchase of water in single-use plastic bottles and spring water dispensers in 2020. We have installed tap water filtration facilities at all locations. Kitchens and staff areas are equipped with water serving sets (carafes and glasses).
  • In 2021, we started issuing eco-friendly cards, which are made from 85% recycled plastic. In this way, our carbon footprint is reduced by up to 75%.

Water consumption

Total volume of water abstracted by source (in m3) Head Office Branches
Water supplied from the municipal network 23,540.00 50,038.00
Other sources – –
Total 23,540.00 50,038.00

We reduce water consumption – we implement and use solutions that promote lower water consumption and rational water use (dishwashers, modern sanitary fittings, grey water system, rainwater harvesting system).