2002 Annual Report 130

Transcription

1 2002 Annual Report 130

2 Corporate Social Responsibility Good Governance Compliance The Relationship with Customers The Relationship with Employees The Relationship with Suppliers General Interest Activities The Environment 131

3 2002 Corporate Social Responsibility Modern society is undergoing profound changes that are leading to a significant reconsideration of the nature of companies and their social role. A major corporation that aspires to leadership - such as BBVA - cannot focus its attention exclusively on productive, commercial, financial or resource management issues. Society is calling for a new type of company with a broader perspective, in which importance is attached to issues such as good governance, transparency, ethics, quality, knowledge, a more seamless approach to human resources management, respect for the Environment or support for socio-economic development. All these issues define one of the company's more general commitments: not only with its shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers, but also with the whole of the society with which it operates and with the Environment. A multiple commitment, to which the company must be held accountable. That is the meaning of an expression that is becoming more widespread by the day: the triple bottom line, (financial, social and environmental results), which shows that social and environmental issues are not mere extras that are more or less desirable than the financial issues, but a constituent part of business activities. That is the essential idea behind corporate social responsibility (CRS), a term that encompasses the voluntary (i.e., over and above what the law requires) positive contributions that a company makes to society, and which must be handled as efficiently as possible to contribute to create value for shareholders and employees, and to enhance society. This contribution is embodied through better relations with the main interest groups with which the company deals: shareholders and investors, employees, customers, suppliers, public sector, local communities most directly affected by the firm's activities and society in general. Therefore BBVA does not regard corporate social responsibility as a cost; it is neither philanthropy nor a cosmetic accessory of business activity. It is an investment capable of generating value and consequently calls for profit-oriented management, based on sustainability criteria and a medium and long term perspective. CRS affords 132

4 The relationship with customers. The relationship with employees. The relationship with suppliers. Non-profitmaking relationship with society: in other words, general interest activities carried out through the foundations and the Group's other sponsorship and patronage schemes. The relationship with the Environment. The document Corporate social responsibility in BBVA, which has been published for the first time this year and is enclosed with this annual report, describes the main initiatives launched by the Group throughout year in each of these fields, and which are summarised below. Good Governance an integral conception of the company that is incorporated into its strategic vision and to the core values of its corporate culture. BBVA defines it as one of its Corporate Principles: the Group's commitment with the development of the societies in which it operates. A commitment that BBVA has ratified in 2002 by signing the United Nations' Global Agreement, which seeks to encourage businesses to collaborate in building a society that is better and more respectful of the Environment. From this perspective, BBVA does not look upon corporate social responsibility as the exclusive obligation of certain areas, but as a set of values, attitudes, rules, criteria, patterns of behaviour and achievements that form part of each unit's everyday routines. It is a responsibility that BBVA accepts in its entirety and that encompasses many different fields, such as: The corporate governance system. Compliance. Good governance is essential to the quality of management of any company, but also reflects its social responsibility and ethical commitment. These aspects are particularly important in financial institutions, which base their success on the confidence of broad sectors of society, and even more so in the case of multinational institutions, such as BBVA, that need rigorous, seamless and verifiable criteria that are valid for all markets around the world. The highlights in this field in 2002 included: -New System of Corporate Governance, approved on June 28, New Director's Code, approved on November 22, Compliance The BBVA regulatory compliance system, which enforces rigorous respect for the law and strict ethical criteria in all areas of activity, and during 2002 BBVA focused on three key courses of action that it had implemented in previous years: -Prevention of money laundering and of the financing of terrorist activities. - Securities Market Code of Conduct. - Privacy. 133

5 2002 Corporate Social Responsibility The Relationship with Customers BBVA's social responsibility is to be seen prioritarily in its specific productive or commercial activities, and its desire to make a positive contribution to society is a cornerstone of its business philosophy. This entails offering customers the highest possible standards of quality and personalisation, establishing relations of mutual value and trust and putting forward viable solutions to the problems of especially needy population groups. Listed below are some products and services of particular interest in terms of their social benefit and impact on the aforementioned population groups, and which the Group tailors to the different geographical areas where it operates: -Microloans. - Special SME services. - International trade financing and guidance. - Special schemes for young people. - Special services for immigrants. - Special schemes for people with disabilities. - Special services for Senior Citizens. - Special products for families. - Special services for non-profit organisations and specific agreements with such types of organisations. - Colabor@ Service for facilitating donations to charities by internet. - Red Cross Visa Card. - BBVA Solidarity mutual fund. - BBVA Biogen mutual fund. - Special schemes with the Public Sector (in particular in the fields of education, research and development of new technologies). - Housing. - Help in emergency situations. -Awareness-raising schemes and collaboration with humanitarian causes. - Business continuity plan (in case of large-scale external incidents). - Customer Care Service and Customer Ombudsman. The Relationship with Employees One of BBVA's top priorities is to build the best possible relationship with its employees, fostering their motivation, their positive integration in the company and furthering their personal and career development. BBVA gave preference to these aspects in 2002, as part of a strategy oriented to fully aligning its human resources policy with the principles of its corporate culture. At the heart of this strategy is the skills management model, which seeks to fully stimulate aspects such as: 134

6 - Recognition of merit. - Equal opportunities. -Training. - Demonstrating talent. - Initiative and decision-making capacity. -Teamwork. - Customer and results orientation. - Internal communication. -Transparency and dialogue in industrial relations. This general strategy is embodied by a broad spectrum of initiatives that mirror the Group's commitment to social responsibility in this field: for further details, please refer to the document mentioned above. The Relationship with Suppliers Corporate social responsibility also includes implementing objective, transparent and neutral criteria in relations with suppliers, an approach that BBVA has been applying systematically for many years now. However, this year it launched two particularly notable two initiatives: the implementation of the Annual Efficiency Plan and the drawing up of a code of ethics for Purchases, Premises and General Services, which embodies the ethical principles and values applicable to such activities, to guarantee the criteria of transparency, competition and contrast. General Interest Activities The BBVA Group has always been heavily involved in an extensive array of sponsorship and patronage activities, both in Spain and all the Latin American countries in which it operates, and these activities are of great social importance. On account of the Group's multinational nature and the complexity of its activities, it is a highly decentralised policy, enforced by different units. The main ones are as follows: -BBVA Foundation (Spain). -BBVA Bancomer Foundation (Mexico). -BBVA Provincial Foundation (Venezuela). -BBVA Banco Francés Foundation (Argentina). -BBVA Banco Continental Foundation (Peru). -Areas reporting to the Executive Chairman and Corporate Communications. -Retail Banking Network. -Group's banks in Latin America. - Pension fund managers in Latin America. These activities cover a wide range of fields, which can be grouped as follows: Direct social action. BBVA helps the disadvantaged sectors of society through labour integration schemes, support of charities, the BBVA Foundation's research programmes in this field (social policies, inequalities, exclusion of immigrants), the BBVA Bancomer Foundation's 135

7 2002 Corporate Social Responsibility coaching and volunteer work initiatives, BBVA Banco Francés' sponsorship of the Ecumenical Forum for Social Responsibility and numerous social welfare initiatives (in particular for children, teenagers and disadvantaged women) in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Education and training. Some of the key projects in this field are: BBVA Quetzal Route (coordinated by the Director General for Corporate Communications), BBVA Bancomer in Education (coordinated by the BBVA Bancomer Foundation), the Mad Science workshops sponsored by BBVA Bancomer, the Papagayo Project of the BBVA Provincial Foundation, the Francisco Giner de los Ríos Prizes for the Enhancement of Educational Quality of the BBVA Foundation and the numerous courses, seminars and projects that the Foundation organizes with university establishments, as well as the Courses for Entrepreneurs and the Annual "Learning outside the classroom" Programme of the BBVA Banco Francés Foundation. Art and culture. The Group's different units organise and sponsor significant artistic and cultural events, very especially in field of Plastic Arts. The following foundations organise major exhibitions and museum events: BBVA Foundation (which also sponsors the restoration of masterpieces of Spain's artistic heritage), BBVA Bancomer Foundation (the most renowned event being the Bancomer Art Salon), and the BBVA Banco Francés, BBVA Banco Continental and BBVA Provincial Foundations. Socio-economic research. Above all, mention must be made of the work of the Group's Economic Research Departments and the research and dissemination programmes conducted by the BBVA Banco Francés and BBVA foundations (which runs specific schemes on industrial and financial economy, public economy, social integration and demography, the knowledge society, social values, Europe and Latin America), not to mention the numerous schemes that many of the Group's units launch in different countries to back public and private institutions engaged in research and training in these fields. Health. The main initiatives in this field form part of the BBVA Foundation's Biomedicine, Health and Health System programme. The Group's banks in Argentina, Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Venezuela also organise and sponsor health-related activities. 136

8 The Environment Respect for the Environment and efficient use of natural resources is another unavoidable aspect of corporate social responsibility. BBVA accepts this, in the firm belief that it can make a significant contribution in advancing towards a sustainable conception of development. BBVA believes that economic activity and nature are compatible with one another, and fosters this compatibility through four courses of action: laying down increasingly stricter internal quality and efficiency objectives regarding the environment and the use of natural resources; making the environment a variable that must be evaluated systematically in financial transactions; engaging actively in the financing and guidance of environmental conservation and improvement projects; and supporting numerous practical, educational and research initiatives related to these issues. As regards the first course of action, throughout 2002 BBVA made consistent progress in enforcing the environmental criteria applicable to the building and adaptation of workplaces (having obtained ISO certification for three workplaces, while the Banc International d Andorra-Banca Mora obtained a global certification), in applying regulations regarding paper, electricity and water saving, and the use of recycled paper and renewable resources, and in applying strict environmental criteria to suppliers and subcontractors. Two key tools in achieving these advances have been the Efficiency and Transform@ Plans. As for the second dimension, the Group is developing its own methodology for including environmental criteria in financial transaction risk analysis, which is already applied systematically in the appraisal of the environmental impact of large investment projects. As for the third, the Corporate Banking and Institutional Banking units have financed and provided guidance in a wide array of environmental enhancement projects (water, energy, infrastructures, town planning), and a European Investment Bank credit line for SME environmental enhancement projects. Finally, it is also worth mentioning also the sponsorship of environmental initiatives by the Banc International d Andorra-Banca Mora and the environmental research, training and dissemination projects that the BBVA Foundation is carrying out as part of its Environment, Urban Space and Quality of Life scheme. 137