Innovation

For Climate Action, Elyonor and her team have implemented strategies to reduce their contribution to climate change. They have started planting trees to counteract the paper they use and help fight climate change. In addition, Caja de Ahorros has been helping individuals and companies finance solar panels and electric cars. The solar panels create sustainable energy for electricity and electric cars help lower carbon emissions and pollution.

During Covid-19, when both the economy and families were struggling, Caja de Ahorros temporarily paused mortgage payments and allowed families to feel more financially secure. This act of kindness followed the first SDG, ‘No Poverty.’ Families were extremely grateful for the mortgage payments being temporarily paused. Regardless of income class, having a mortgage payment paused can be a huge financial relief for families.

Another action that Caja de Ahorros has implemented is the school's vegetable patches program which has benefitted the school's surrounding community. The intention was to teach public school students how to grow vegetables, fruit and grain while learning to garden and run a small-scale farm. Once grown, crops are harvested and shared with struggling families to help them thrive. This program is a great idea because it teaches students life lessons about gardening, which can be very useful skill for the future, while aiding their own families and communities.

Inspiration

Elyonor feels motivated when she gets to do her job, but she also has an important responsibility to fulfill. She believes that she and the bank’s sustainability sector can make a difference, which can be reflected through their business decisions. As the corporate governance area manager, she uses her position to make important decisions that focus not only on the bank’s benefit but also on the environment surrounding them. Elyonor claims, “It's fulfilling, mixing business and responsibility. Through our internal actions, we contribute to solving environmental and social issues nationally. We can serve as an example, inspiring other companies positively. It’s like a positive pandemic.”

Elyonor uses her position to positively impact the economic, environmental, and social aspects of the bank; she uses her ideas of sustainability to improve all three factors. Another quote from Elyonor is, “Internally, we have also begun to take responsibility, not only with recycling but by measuring our carbon footprint.” She has the sustainability division measuring their carbon footprint and how many trees they need to plant to offset their impact. This shows how committed they are to making the environment around them a better place while demonstrating that they’re not just in it for the money. The inspiration for all of this sustainability work comes from helping local families around the company. They educate these families on savings plans, housing solutions, and social interests. All of these factors help support their local families through the problems they may be facing.

Overall impact

During the interview, Elyonor brought up two key events that happened during the pandemic that exemplified Caja de Ahorros’ overall impact. In Panama, unlike many other countries, everything was shut down during the COVID-19 outbreak and banks were the only thing operating daily. Under the leadership of their current general manager, Andrés Farrugia, the bank promoted an initiative to give temporary relief to mortgage debtors who were out of work because of the economic pause. In the short term, this created a significant social impact as it allowed people some breathing room until the economy could be reactivated post-pandemic to pay back their debts.

Since 2000, Caja de Ahorros has also been operating the school vegetable patches program. During the pandemic, these gardens were able to help local families grow food even though it wasn’t directly a banking activity. In the long-term future, the program will also benefit students, giving them hands-on experience, which can be helpful in their growth as individuals. The bank also focuses on helping businesses and members finance green products like residential solar panels or hybrid electric cars at very competitive interest rates. This financing helps the world as we attempt to mitigate our global carbon footprint both now and in the future while creating more accessible routes for businesses to become greener. To sum it up, Caja de Ahorros has a long-term global impact promoting organizations and individuals to become greener while also benefiting individuals by helping them in times of need.

Business benefit

Caja de Ahorros is a public savings bank whose primary goal is to help customers open savings accounts and grant loans to those who need them. The bank earns revenue through regular operations that happen day to day. However, through its innovations, Caja de Ahorros has been able to benefit in more ways than just strictly generating revenue. For example, the company has been aiming to achieve a certification the United Nations grants called the Gender Equality Seal, which promotes the increased role of women in organizations. To achieve this, the bank has internally trained women in their organization to develop skills in culture, finance, and management. By training employees internally, the bank benefits from recruitment cost savings and the investment they've made in women who continue to make a substantial impact in the work they do for the bank.

In another area, the bank benefits from its green mindset, which has made recycling and the elimination of trash a priority in its offices. In a country like Panama, where there is so much to learn about recycling, Caja de Ahorros takes the extra step to set an example for other organizations and offices. The bank has eliminated trash cans in its central offices, meaning they do not produce any waste, and has implemented paper shredding stations to dispose of paper. The bank then sells the recycled material and uses the funds it earns to support reforestation nurseries, improving Panama’s national carbon footprint. The bank also benefits from its loans given for residential solar panels and electric vehicles. By setting low interest rates, the bank generates more revenue from people actively taking out loans to better their carbon footprints. By introducing these recycling concepts, the bank has created a ripple effect across the country as it gradually raises awareness about the benefits of having a sustainable country.

Social and environmental benefit

Caja de Ahorros’ green initiative benefits society and the environment in many ways. Through the elimination of waste and promotion of recycling in their offices, the bank has improved its carbon footprint while educating the people of Panama on the benefits of sustainable business. This education happens in schools through the school vegetable patch program, which gives children hands-on experience in creating a sustainable food source while also providing low-income families with fresh vegetables. The idea is also sold to clients looking to purchase a new car or invest in sustainable energy for their home through their promoted low interest rates on loans for sustainable purchases.

Society has also benefited from Caja de Ahorros's efforts to promote women in management roles through its training programs. These programs support and endorse the creation of a stronger female presence in Panama’s workforce. These programs also create more intelligent and resourceful employees with transferable sustainability skills. These skills can be introduced to future companies to help continue to reduce their carbon footprint when these team members take on new roles in the future. 

In another sense, Caja de Ahorros is also motivating its competitors to be better. During the interview, Elyonor specifically stated that once the bank had started to publicly release sustainability reports, other banks in Panama, such as Banco Nacional, took action and released their first sustainability report. Even though they are competitors, Banco Nacional’s actions benefit their customers and society by providing more insight into the sustainable differences they are making as well.

Interview

Elyonor Samudio de Avila, Manager of Sustainability