In late October, the European Commission announced more than €380 million in grants to over 100 projects across Europe aimed at achieving EU green goals, yet underscored just how much support yet needs to come from national and local governments–and most notably, private sector partners.

With European governments and policymakers increasingly looking to the private sector to ramp up climate action and accelerate the green transition, Dutch multinational bank ING has responded to the call in dramatic fashion. On 19 September, ING announced, via its latest climate progress report, that it would begin cutting ties with clients that fail to meet their climate impact reduction targets from 2026. What’s more, the Dutch giant is putting its money where its mouth is, committing to stop financing for new upstream petroleum projects beyond next year.

While the US banking sector’s integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations has come under intense political scrutiny amid a rising “woke capitalism” backlash, ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk has positioned the company at the forefront of Europe’s more proactive approach in this space. Indeed, from France’s BNP Paribas and Bulgaria’s Fibank to Italy’s UniCredit, the sector’s leading innovators are lighting the way forward, driving investment in sustainability, socioeconomic inclusion and cultural well-being to expand their societal contribution.

Igniting sustainable transition

Addressing its bombshell decisions, ING’s global head of sustainability, Anne-Sophie Castelnau, has clarified the firm’s view that while the industry is not “the white knight that is going to save the world,” banks have a key role to play in the green transition.

Beyond reinforced monitoring of clients’ climate progress – notably facilitated by its internal ESG.X tool – and assessment of the most carbon-intensive sectors, ING is also supporting the green transition on the ground. Last June, it joined forces with fellow Dutch firm Kroonenberg Group to give Amsterdam municipality over 5,500 solar panels in honour of its 750th anniversary, which will generate over 2,000 MW of clean electricity every year for public and community facilities across the city.

In Bulgaria, the country’s largest independent bank, First Investment Bank (Fibank), has adopted similar green energy ambitions as part of its long-term sustainability strategy. Launching its internal transition in 2022, Fibank is now meeting 100% of its electricity needs from renewable sources, allowing the company to cut roughly 8,000 tons of CO2 emissions last year alone.

Tseko Minev and Ivaylo Mutafchiev, Fibank’s founders and majority owners, have inspired the bank’s expanding green agenda, which has seen it move forward with a host of innovative initiatives, such as replacing nearly 100,000 plastic debit and credit cards with new cards made from recyclable material in 2023 to help curb soaring plastic pollution.

Recognising the need to lock in long-term sustainability progress, Italian multinational bank UniCredit unveiled its ‘Skills for Transition’ programme in July, which will offer strategic training to young people and companies to lay a resilient foundation for a greener future.

Making economies work for everyone

Sharing Unicredit’s focus on preparing the next generation, Fibank and ING have placed youth education and skills at the heart of their broader social impact agendas.

As part of its commitment to socioeconomic inclusion, Fibank participated in the Children’s Financial Literacy Week last March, during which over 5,000 students in schools across Bulgaria learned digital banking and budgeting fundamentals vital to leading financially-sustainable lifestyles. Meanwhile, ING Romania significantly reinforced its youth engagement work as part of a €5.2 million investment programme in 2023, launching a new partnership with Teach for Romania that will deploy leadership programmes in financial health and resource management across a network of ten schools over the next two years.

Europe’s banking sector has also begun taking innovative steps towards building a more accessible and inclusive economy for people living with disabilities. Supporting the intended legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games – which, incidentally, it promoted by releasing exclusive themed debit and credit cards in partnership with VISA – Fibank is the first and only bank in Bulgaria to offer dedicated ATMs for people with short stature. While expanding the number of these adapted machines, Fibank continues to enhance its ATM network with new functions to assist people with impaired vision.

In a similar spirit, Unicredit unveiled a bold collaboration with Mastercard last April to upgrade its full range of debit, credit and prepaid cards with the Mastercard Touch Card and its innovative, built-in accessibility features for blind and partially-sighted people. Already available in Italy, UniCredit will gradually roll out 20 million of these new cards across its 12 countries of operation over the course of 2024 to help create a more inclusive society.

Delivering culture for all

Not satisfied with planting the seeds of economic inclusion and equal access to the skills needed to thrive, Europe’s banks have emerged as significant champions of culture, recognising this intangible asset as a universal right and crucial enabler of well-being and social cohesion.

Through its ‘Dream Up’ programme, French banking giant BNP Paribas gives children from underserved communities the opportunity to learn about and participate in a host of artistic activities. Leveraging its international presence and the BNP Paribas Foundation’s significant resources, the company has delivered a comprehensive series of music, visual arts and dance workshops and shows spanning four continents. Since launching in 2015, ‘Dream Up’ has reached over 50,000 children, with BNP Paribas introducing its flagship cultural initiative’s fourth edition in January.

In Bulgaria, Fibank has similarly bolstered its wide-ranging patronage of the arts with strong funding support for the Union of Bulgarian Actors’ social programme, as well as its provision of theatre scholarships to promising young actors from low-income backgrounds. What’s more, UniCredit’s partnership with Teatro San Carlo, Naples – Europe’s oldest opera house – offers a series of workshops and projects to give disadvantaged youths access to their cultural heritage as well as employment opportunities in the industry.

As these leaders demonstrate, European banks are at the vanguard of integrating ESG and redefining industry standards, proving that sustainable finance is not just a moral imperative but a strategic advantage. Moving forward, their comprehensive efforts should serve as a blueprint for banks worldwide, whose full force will be needed to unlock the sector’s potential to fuel a more inclusive and resilient global economy. With climate change and inequality pressures growing ever-more urgent, the time for decisive action is now.