Unibanco
Unibanco, the third-largest private bank in Brazil, has been actively involved in driving the sustainable finance agenda and has contributed significantly to its current growth. In addition to its traditional aim of contributing to economic development, Unibanco was the first large financial institution in an emerging market to really begin to integrate sustainability measures across its operations and business, helping both to reduce lending risks and to generate and then capitalise on new business opportunities. In June 2004, Unibanco became the first domestic Brazilian bank, as well as the first emerging markets bank, to become a signatory to the Equator Principles. The bank has also been capitalising on financial advisory opportunities in sustainable energy, including carbon-trading. Further products and services include the bank’s long-term micro-finance work through its affiliate Fininvest. In 2001, Unibanco launched environmental and social research reports for foreign SRI investors. Significant effort was channelled into corporate education to increase transparency. Following this step, both SRI and community funds began to appear, including Unibanco’s own Social Fund. The bank has implemented comprehensive CSR policies, including good corporate governance and ethics and strong human resource and stakeholder processes, gaining a DGSI listing and reaching level 1 on the Bovespa index, recognising social, environmental and ethical leadership, while spending over $8.5m in 2002 on training for its workforce. Community activity includes work through the Unibanco Institute, which prioritises education projects for underprivileged youth to increase employability and reduce social exclusion. Both CSR Awards were judged by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, a research firm specialising in CSR, in association with The Banker.
