home
frankly speaking podcast

#71 Antoni Ballabriga: Why ESG investment is still a business winner

What impact will the Omnibus simplification proposals have on banks, and what is their message to European policymakers? Listen to Antoni Ballabriga, Global Head for Sustainability Intelligence and Advocacy at BBVA

With the departure of nearly a dozen US and Canadian banks from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance in the past few months, is the future of sustainable finance hanging in balance? And what is the verdict on how far and well the green transition is advancing?

This week on the Frankly Speaking podcast, Richard Howitt was joined by Antoni Ballabriga, Global Head for Sustainability Intelligence and Advocacy at BBVA, the Spanish multinational bank that has been working on sustainability and sustainable finance for almost 20 years.

Together they discussed why BBVA has bucked the trend of banks withdrawing from sustainable finance initiatives, including why it has instead chosen to double down on its sustainability agenda by increasing its sustainable investment twofold to €700 billion over the next five years. You’ll also hear more about:

  • Why the Net-Zero Banking Alliance is considering altering its ambition of 1.5C to the minimum ambition of the Paris Agreement (below 2C),  
  • How BBVA’s new concept of an ESG data pack will help companies and investors access all the information they need in one single deck 
  • Why it decided to make a major investment in green hydrogen 
  • The bank’s view on the Omnibus and why they believe mid-caps must be kept in scope of mandatory disclosure 
  • A call for policymakers to step up their efforts on sustainable finance to secure the green transition

Listen in and follow us on Linkedin!

You may also like these episodes

35:11

#91 Jiří Mravec & Antonín Šámal: What Heavy Industry Needs to Successfully Decarbonise

What are the major roadblocks in heavy industry’s pathway to decarbonisation? Listen to Jiří Mravec, Head of Innovation and Transformation at Třinecké železárny & Antonín Šámal, Research Fellow at the thinktank Association for International Affairs

33:53

#90 Nareeluc Pairchaiyapoom: Why the Global South Wants Mandatory Due Diligence

What are the reasons behind Thailand’s moves to introduce mandatory supply chain due diligence legislation? Listen to Nareeluc Pairchaiyapoom, Director of the International Human Rights Division at Thailand’s Ministry of Justice.

33:28

#89 Brian Hill: Should We Measure the Sustainability of Products Instead of Firms?

Is product-level reporting rather than firm-level reporting better for the competitiveness of European industry? Listen to Brian Hill, Academic Director of the Inclusive Economy Center in Sustainability and Organisations Institute at HEC Paris, and Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS.