RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – For the third time, Banco do Brasil (BB) was elected the most sustainable bank in the world by the Global 100 ranking from the Canadian research company Corporate Knights. The financial institution had won the leadership in the banking segment in 2019 and 2021.
In the last ten years, BB has appeared in the ranking of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world in seven. The bank was the best-positioned company among Brazilian companies, ranking 21st overall for sustainability worldwide.
According to Corporate Knights, Banco do Brasil’s sustainable business portfolio, currently with a balance of over R$282 (US$52) billion, was the highlight for the ranking. Consisting of credit lines that finance activities with the socio-environmental returns, the portfolio is submitted to independent evaluation and uses international criteria to define sustainable projects and ventures.
Among the segments financed by the portfolio are renewable energy, energy efficiency, construction, sustainable transport and tourism, water, fishing, forestry, sustainable agriculture, waste management, education, health, and local and regional development sectors.
The ranking was released during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, an event that brings together world leaders and business people in Davos, Switzerland, throughout this week.
Launched in 2005, the Global 100 ranking lists the 100 most sustainable large corporations globally. In all, about 7.3 thousand companies with annual revenues of more than US$1 billion per year were evaluated.
The ranking evaluates large companies’ economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Based on public data published by the companies, the survey considers 21 performance indicators, including financial, personnel, and resource management; revenue obtained from products and services with social and environmental benefits; and supply chain performance.
Banco do Brasil is part of stock exchange indexes that consider sustainable companies from the environmental and social point of view, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, of the New York Stock Exchange, in the global and emerging markets categories, the FTSE Good Index Series, of the London Stock Exchange, and the Corporate Sustainability Index of B3, the Brazilian stock exchange.