Innovation

GFNorte’s institutional program is aimed at strengthening sustainability culture through assertive communication that addresses the core issues of sustainability.

Banorte's strategy in sustainability breaks into 3 fundamental pillars:

• Our People: Includes social aspects that focus on the development of human capital and the communities that are affected by Banorte's decision making. For example, Banorte has financial inclusion and education to improve human capital in Mexico. They also have programs for people with different capacities. For example, for employees who are blind or visually impaired, the tech area has special programs so they can perform their work as any other employee would do.
• Our Planet: They pursue initiatives to strengthen environmental culture within the institution, to measure and reduce our consumption of resources and our generation of waste. As of today, initiatives for recycling and efficient use of electricity and water only apply to corporative buildings, but they are looking forward to also implement it on bank branches.
• Responsible Business: They incorporate environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors into our credit and investment portfolios. They have also included the sustainability team in all of their decision-making committees to point out if their investing or financing decisions will have a positive or negative impact on the community and the environment.

In 2019, Banorte became the founder and member of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) in Mexico. This aligns the bank with the initiative of the United Nations to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. This orientates the banks' efforts into better investment and credit practices to mitigate risk and generate a true impact in society. This allows the Banorte Financial Group to better respond to legislative changes in environmental and social aspects.

Inspiration

They are a bank whose priority is satisfying its clients and maintaining good relationships with suppliers. For this reason, they have increased their engagement with them to communicate the importance of good sustainability practices as a competitive strategy. Their stakeholders also participate actively in various committees, boards, and associations in the national and international financial industry, leading important sustainability initiatives for banking.

Another reason for innovation in Banorte is that Banorte's investors are now more interested in the social impact their savings are generating and so Banorte is also interested in keeping up with investors' interests.

As for Britzia's personal inspiration, she joined Banorte's sustainability team to make the world a better place. She initially thought it would be in a more poetical manner, "Reforesting the entire country", as she said in the interview. But she believes that her position as sub-director of the sustainability area of a big financial group is far more interesting.

Overall impact

Speaking to their overall impact, GF Banorte has assessed 26 new projects, primarily in the manufacturing, construction, and tourism industries, and analyzed 415 lesser-impact projects that were managed through recommendations of the IFC Industry-Specific Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines.

Banorte's purpose of heavily investing in sustainability and to be the first bank in Mexico to do it is to create and permeate a sustainability culture not only in Banorte's employees but also in other groups of interest like clients and suppliers.

Business benefit

According to Banorte's 2019 annual report, CEMEFI granted Grupo Financiero Banorte its Socially Responsible Enterprise distinction for the ninth year in a row and Seguros y Pensiones Banorte for the fifth year in a row.

Banorte is part of the FTSE4Good Global Sustainability Index in recognition of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

They are recognized as the best Mexican bank, by Global Finance Magazine and by Latin Finance magazine, both of them widely recognized publications in the financial world.

Reforestamos México presented Banorte with an award thanking them for their fourth participation in this nationwide reforestation effort. More than 650 Banorte volunteers took part to reforest seven hectares of woodlands.

Social and environmental benefit

This past year was marked by a series of events that offered stark testimony of the climate change crisis facing the world. Hurricanes, forest fires, and species extinction are just some of the events we’ve seen affecting economic dynamics. GFNorte is confident that banks can contribute to mitigation and adaptation to climate change through focused and concerted action together with our stakeholders.

GFNorte promotes reduced emissions and energy efficiency in its operations. For example, by 2021, 70% of the energy GFNorte consumes each day will come from renewable sources, avoiding more than half the CO2e emissions it generates today. GFNorte has a Comprehensive Energy Control System in its branch network. Two branches are equipped with solar panels, avoiding the emission of 4.6 metric tons of CO2e. It developed a program to automatically shut down desktops outside of working hours, which includes 7,000 computers. (Banorte, 2019)

GFNorte offers sustainable products and services. For example, it promotes financing for SMEs interested in renewable energies and energy efficiency through Eco-Loans. It has a Specialized Infrastructure and Energy Department, which promotes financing for renewable energy generation projects. Operadora de Fondos and Afore XXI Banorte invest in assets relating to green bonds, social bonds, and sustainable bonds.

Interviews

Britzia Lucero Silva Encino, Sub-directora Sustentabilidad e Inversion Responsable

Diana Itzel Jimenez Marquez, Coordinadora Riesgo Socio Ambiental