Banca Generali brings sustainability to Venice

The revolution has begun. And Banca Generali has intercepted it. CEO Gian Maria Mossa frames "sustainability" as a fundamental "pillar of the business plan." Thus, to push even further this change inspired by the criteria of environmental protection and combating social inequalities, the bank has devised the "BG4SDGs- Time to Change" project by assigning fashion and social reportage photographer, Stefano Guindani, to take 17 photos around the world in deference to as many goals of the UN 2030 agenda.  A path of communication that is doubly linked to the activities that Banca Generali is promoting in schools with a series of meetings under the patronage of the Ministry of Education.

Iconic photos such as the fox symbolized on the cover of the book "Time to Change" left "trapped" in climate change, alone and fragile on a rotting iceberg in Svalbard. One of the images projected at the Ambrosetti Forum at Villa d'Este in Cernobbio Sept. 1-3. A journey that also features a docufilm in collaboration with Rai Cinema directed by Emanuele Imbucci and starring actress Rocio Muñoz Morales, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the Procuratie Vecchie, headquarters of the Generali Group Foundation, The Human Safety Net.

This seals Banca Generali's commitment to "sustainability, which means value creation and employment," Mossa adds. A challenge that has ended up pushing the hiring of the under-35s. An approach that is embodied in the institution's unique governance with three out of five independent directors. And that has sparked investments that have helped reduce the carbon footprint by 42 percent in just a few years. Allowing the institution to increase the ratings of the main agencies in charge of giving ratings on these issues (Msci score A from BBB in 2022, Standard Ethics EE+ at the highest in Italy, Moody's 62/100).

A change that has also affected retail clients if halfway through the 2022-2024 three-year plan, the bank was able to achieve a 6.5 billion growth in ESG assets by bringing to 14.1 billion (33.7 percent of the total) products inspired by investments that determine social, environmental and transparency implications in corporate governance. A goal that comes from within the bank. Which has involved 71% of its employees in training activities dedicated to a better understanding of these issues, driven also by the new Mifid directive of August 2022, that is, the mandatory completion of questionnaires addressed to customers to explain the benefits of this type of investment.

Clearly, this may change the risk-return dynamic, but we are facing a generational revolution if 70 percent of Millennials, the new group of savers, have "a lot of interest" in sustainable choices. While there are already more than 171 thousand bank customers "very interested in investing in products that take ESG factors into account.