• Two years after the launch, the round-the-world photographic story on the challenges of the UN Agenda’s 17 SDGs has been completed
• The Bank is accelerating its commitment to sustainability: halfway through the three-year plan, ESG assets at €14.1 billion equal to 34% (target of 40% by the end of 2024)
• The project for the Community: the shots are becoming a travelling exhibition, a book and a docufilm that will be screened at the Venice Film Festival. The photographs will also be transformed in digital postcards to raise funds for the THSN Foundation

From Milan to Tel Aviv, from the recycling of end-of-life tyres to socio-economic cooperation for peace among peoples: with the last shot at the non-governmental organisation Peres Center for Peace, the BG4SDGs – Time to Change project — conceived by Banca Generali and curated by fashion and social reportage photographer Stefano Guindani — aimed to represent the challenges of the 17 SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda has come to an end. Two years after the presentation (September 2021), following the research carried out at different latitudes of the globe through the lens of sustainability told month after month in the individual targets, BG4SDGs – Time to Change unveils the result of this journey: a communication path that aims to involve, inform and raise the awareness of the public on the SDGs, highlighting the critical aspects of certain environmental targets, as well as the opportunities offered by innovation and people's ability to overcome obstacles. Moreover, the coming months will see the project evolve, giving life to new social initiatives in favour of the community.

THE PROJECT AND INITIATIVES FOR THE COMMUNITY

The series of shots taken by Guindani around the world stems from an analysis of the document “Transforming our World. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" signed by the United Nations in Paris in 2015. Guindani was accompanied by an exceptional companion, namely international anthropologist Alberto Salza, who guided him in interpreting the individual targets, seeking a new approach able not only to depict and express the urgencies and delays of the most universal goals, but also to recognise the excellent solutions that can efficiently respond to these challenges. After being published on social channels on a monthly basis in the last two years, Guindani's work is now collected in the book "Time To Change", available digitally from the https://bg4sdgs.com/ website and in bookstores from October.

The most representative photographs will then be displayed at a series of exhibitions, the first of which will be staged on the site of the Ambrosetti Forum at Villa d'Este in Cernobbio from 1 to 3 September, thanks to the support of the Peres Foundation and The European House Ambrosetti, which have endorsed the project's universal message. This will be followed by travelling exhibitions in the main Italian cities that will continue in stages throughout 2024, starting with the event scheduled in Venice at the Procuratie Vecchie in September, followed by Milan in October.

The story of the journey has also inspired a docufilm in collaboration with Rai Cinema (available in the next few weeks on the Rai Play platform) directed by Emanuele Imbucci and narrated by actress Rocio Muñoz Morales. The docufilm will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, 5 September at the Procuratie Vecchie, headquarters of the Generali Group Foundation, The Human Safety Net. The latter will receive the funds raised from the book and from donations related to the purchase of digital postcards from Stefano Guindani’s website https://shop.spgitalia.com/, in favour of the ESIR Project and Aula 162 Project with the Red Cross for refugee training and employment. In the same portal, it will be possible to buy digital postcards, the book or the original photographs in limited and exclusive digital version with a numbered paper copy.

Starting from 2024, BG4SDGs will also become a platform for in-depth ESG-related content (podcasts and digital talks) to integrate the Bank's social channels with schools’ innovative educational paths also thanks to the collaboration with leading associations. To round up this immersive experience in the challenges related to sustainable transition, in 2024 Banca Generali will also present EDUESG, a new cycle of in-depth studies dedicated to the contribution of innovation to the UN SDGs together with influencer Marco Montemagno, who will analyse Italian start-ups and international best practices specific to each topic.

BANCA GENERALI AND SUSTAINABILITY

Banca Generali’s focus on sustainability is part of a social commitment and responsibility path that has led to increasingly broader objectives and ambitions and to gradually expanding the scope of action. Halfway through the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, the Bank’s ESG assets grew from €6.5 billion at 2021 year-end (14.6% of managed solutions) to €14.1 billion at the end of the first half of 2023, accounting for 33.7% of total managed assets. The Bank confirmed its target to bring ESG products (funds and wrappers) to account for 40% of total managed solutions by the end of 2024.

With regard to the three-year target aimed at increasing people training and engagement on ESG matters, the Bank is working at full speed, having already involved 71% of its employees in dedicated training activities (target: 70% by 2024) with 30% of the network already possessing in-depth ESG knowledge (target: 50%).

The Bank’s commitment to governance transparency and stakeholder engagement has led to a rating upgrade by the main agencies specialised on the industry-wide best practice levels (MSCI: A from BBB in 2022; Standard Ethics: EE+, the highest in Italy; Moodys: 62/100). Also worth of mention is the latest assessment by Sustainalytics, Morningstar's ESG rating agency, that has recently further improved the rating to 7.8 "Negligible Risk" and confirmed the positioning of Banca Generali, which for two years now has retained first place in Asset Manager & Custody Services which includes about 400 global operators.

Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Gian Maria Mossa stated: “The Bank's commitment to sustainability goes beyond the supply dynamics and the asset protection role that sets us apart: it increasingly strives to translate into an impact in favour of the entire community. We are convinced that knowledge and awareness raising are essential steps for moving in this direction. We must all work to start a virtuous circle in which the principles enshrined by the UN become an important element in strategic choices, but also in day-by-day activities. In this sense, we are proud to have created a project such as BG4SDGs – Time to Change, which can raise people's awareness of the important challenges of the 2030 Agenda, also giving life to constructive training and charity initiatives. I would like to thank Stefano and all those who have contributed to recounting this inclusive journey on three dimensions — economic, social and ecological — in which each shot reminds us how each of us is a witness and is responsible for a challenge made up of choices and directions that can contribute to this path.”

Stefano Guindani: “I am very proud of having taken part in this project, which is a one of a kind in terms of creativity and scale. I hope that my images will be able to draw attention to the issue of green transition, which is increasingly crucial for humankind and for our planet, as strongly confirmed by the growing intensity of natural disasters. The aim of BG4SDGs - Time to Change is not only to put the spotlight on some of the major problems that afflict our planet, but above all to suggest possible solutions and an optimistic message linked to innovation and the responsibility of many initiatives. Thanks to this project, I was able to discover and deepen my knowledge of virtuous realities that with commitment pursue common goals: to make human life more respectful of our planet and ensure our future; because the actions we take today in favour of sustainability will ensure the perpetuation of human life and a better tomorrow for all."