SANTO DOMINGO –On the fourth anniversary of its adherence to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, Banco Popular Dominicano announced that it is taking another step forward by joining the Carbon Accounting Partnership for the Financial Industry (PCAF), where participants are working together to jointly develop the Global Standard for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Accounting and Reporting, to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of its loans and investments.
The PCAF was launched in September 2019 and currently includes more than 420 financial entities from six continents, with Banco Popular being the first Dominican bank to join this initiative.
The members of this international alliance, which manages assets exceeding $85 trillion, are committed to assessing climate-related risks, setting targets aligned with the Paris Agreement, and developing effective strategies for decarbonizing society.
As signatories, financial organizations receive collaboration, guidance, and technical support to meet the agreed-upon objectives, and can access the PCAF database to account for their financed emissions, as well as other related resources. This strengthens Popular's risk analysis capacity to help clients improve their management and reduce their own GHG emissions.
Deepening the sustainable vision
In a press release, Banco Popular explains that by joining this alliance, the financial organization is deepening its commitment to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, whose goal is to align banking business with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“The challenges facing the region and the world are numerous, and the role of responsible banking is fundamental to overcoming them. We continue to add value to society, providing new avenues to move towards a country with lower emissions. Our corporate purpose is to be a catalyst for promoting sustainable development in our nation—economically, socially, institutionally, and environmentally,” said Christopher Paniagua, CEO of Banco Popular.
Green portfolio “Go Green”
From its sustainable vision, Popular innovated with the "Hazte Eco" initiative and portfolio of green products, the broadest in the financial sector and a pioneer in this field, with multiple sustainable financing solutions for families and companies with better conditions than the market.
The total portfolio of “Hazte Eco” closed in August 2023 at over RD$13,152 million, highlighting the portfolio for eco loans and hybrid and electric vehicles that exceeds RD$1,800 million.
Banco Popular has financed RD$581 million for companies and professionals through its Green Leasing product, and has boosted renewable energy generation in the country with its own portfolio of US$188.8 million, in addition to participating in other syndicated loans, which in total add approximately 400 megawatts of clean energy to the country's energy matrix.
