BUSINESS: 327 PRACTICES
Alpha Bank Group
The Alpha Bank Group is one of the leading Groups of the financial sector in Greece. It offers a wide range of high-quality financial products and services in the domestic and international market and has one of the highest capital adequacy ratios in Europe.
Alpha Bank remains permanently committed to the provision of innovative investment products, adopts and highlights sustainability terms and ESG criteria, contributing in a positive way to the environment and society. With the aim of financing forest restoration in Greece, the Bank is leading the way, giving its Customers the opportunity to actively contribute to the protection of the environment. through investing in sustainable investment products.
Alpha Bank Private Banking customers.
The project is estimated to last 5 years (2021-2026), with the goal of planting 30,000 trees under the management of the Forestry Research Institute of Thessaloniki.
As part of its sustainable and responsible investment strategy, Alpha Bank for the first time introduced the concept of Impact Investments through the Structured Notes investment products offered to Private Banking clients. Impact Investments are investments with an environmental or social benefit.
This innovative initiative combines a sustainable investment product with a targeted forest restoration effort. Specifically, for every 1,000 euros of nominal value of participation in these products, 1 tree is planted by the environmental company Reforest' Action.
Through Reforest΄Action, customers with their participation in these products financed the planting of 17,379 trees, which contribute to sequestering 2,606 tons of carbon dioxide.
Reforest' Action, in collaboration with the Institute of Forestry Research of Thessaloniki, identified the Arona forest of the Municipality of Katerinis that needs restoration. It is a forest of approximately 1,000 hectares consisting mainly of Hungarian oak. The project is estimated to last 5 years (2021-2026), with the goal of planting 30,000 trees under the management of the Forestry Research Institute of Thessaloniki. After the completion of the project, the new trees planted are monitored by specialist forestry scientists and agronomists to ensure their growth in the best possible conditions. Reforest' Action monitors the information provided by the project managers (photos, reports, etc.) for a period of 5 years.
Through Reforest΄Action, customers with their participation in investment products with an environmental impact financed the planting of 17,379 trees, which contribute to sequestering 2,606 tons of carbon dioxide, provide shelter to over 52,000 wild animals, produce more than 69,500 months of oxygen and they generate approximately 17,380 working hours.
Through the implementation of a long-term strategy that favors the natural regeneration of the variety of tree species, the Arona forest will benefit from:
In addition, there are economic and social benefits for the region. The forest is suitable for beekeeping, mushroom cultivation, hunting, while it also has touristic value.
The reforestation project is being carried out in the Arona forest of the Municipality of Katerinis, which is in need of restoration. It is a forest of approximately 1,000 hectares consisting mainly of Hungarian oak.
The investment products offered through Alpha Bank are issued by BNP Paribas, while the reforestation project is undertaken by the environmental company Reforest' Action in collaboration with the Forestry Research Institute of Thessaloniki.
Founded in 2010, Reforest Action is dedicated to conserving, restoring and creating new forests around the world. Through its reforestation initiatives, it calls on individuals and companies to take concrete action to protect forests. Participants, using the company's website, can plant trees in more than 25 countries and track the social and environmental benefits resulting from beneficial reforestation activities.
Since its inception, Reforest Action has planted more than 10 million trees with the help of more than 150,000 citizens and helped improve the living conditions of more than 150,000 people worldwide. At the same time, it has raised awareness of forest care among more than 20 million people. The Company's particularly ambitious goal for the coming years (until 2030) is to plant or take protective measures for a total of 1 billion trees.
Having recognized the contemporary environmental challenges, Alpha Bank has established and implements a specific Sustainable and Responsible Investment Strategy. With this innovative initiative, for every 1,000 euros of nominal value of participation in Structured Notes, 1 tree is planted by the environmental company Reforest' Action.
In 2021, six Structured Notes with issuer BNP Paribas belonging to the category of Impact Investments were successfully issued, raising €17 million. By giving the opportunity, for the first time in Greece, to Private Banking clients to make Impact Investments, it confirms itself as a Responsible and Sustainable Investment channel that keeps its commitments to the ESG agenda.
