UniCredit Bank Austria makes a significant contribution to „klimaaktiv Pakt“
- With Austria's “klimaaktiv Pakt”, eleven large companies commit to at least halving their CO2 emissions by 2030 (base 2005); together they are taking essential steps to achieve climate neutrality by 2040
- UniCredit Bank Austria is fully committed to supporting Austria's climate targets – by planning to reduce its CO2 emissions by 91 percent (base 2005), improve energy efficiency by 60 percent and increase the share of renewable energy to 75 percent by 2030
“We joined the first ‘klimaaktiv Pakt’ back in 2011 and are very committed to supporting the initiative of the Ministry of Climate Action within the framework of the new pact. The concept of working out individual climate protection concepts together with major Austrian companies under the professional guidance of experts in order to make a measurable contribution to Austria's climate targets has proven its worth,” emphasises Robert Zadrazil, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria. “Our company has set itself the goal of reducing its CO2 emissions by 91 per cent (base 2005) by 2030, improving its energy efficiency by 60 per cent and covering 75 per cent of its total energy demand from renewable energy sources. In order to achieve this, we will, among other things, gradually convert our vehicle fleet to alternative driving systems, continuously optimise our refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and switch to LED lighting in our branches.”
Minimising its own direct environmental impact is a cornerstone of UniCredit Bank Austria's climate protection and sustainability strategy that should not be underestimated: it has already been able to reduce its CO2 emissions by 89 percent from 2008 to the end of 2020, as well as its waste volume by 90 percent and its heating needs by 71 percent. Since 2020, the bank has sourced almost 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy sources. For its head office on the Austria Campus in Vienna-Leopoldstadt, which the bank moved into in 2018, one of the largest geothermal plants in Europe was built to generate geothermal energy for heating and cooling.
Continuous expansion of the sustainable product range
In addition, UniCredit Bank Austria offers its customers the opportunity to contribute to sustainability and climate protection themselves, in particular with its range of “sustainable accounts”: Its GoGreen accounts, GoGreen youth accounts and GoGreen business accounts for self-employed persons, freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises have been awarded the Austrian Eco-label.
For every euro deposited in these sustainable accounts, the bank finances exclusively sustainable projects – currently already with a total volume of around 161 million euros (as of 31 August 2021). The focus is particularly on sustainable home financing as well as wind and hydropower projects:
Source: https://www.bankaustria.at/en/sustainability.jsp
Investors looking for sustainable alternatives are also in good hands with UniCredit Bank Austria: “More and more investors are no longer satisfied with achieving an adequate financial return. Many of our customers also want to make their own contribution to climate protection and sustainable business practices,” says Robert Zadrazil. “We therefore offer our customers a wide range of sustainable investment funds from renowned international fund partners.”
About klimaaktiv
klimaaktiv is the climate protection initiative of the Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology. With the development and provision of quality standards, the training and further education of professionals, with advice, information and a large partner network, klimaaktiv complements climate protection funding and regulations. Learn more about the goals, activities and actors: https://www.klimaaktiv.at/english/
Enquiries: UniCredit Bank Austria Press Office
Matthias Raftl, tel.: +43 (0) 5 05 05-52809
E-mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at