Sella and Sustainability
The Sella Group is guided by the awareness that economic results must be pursued while taking into account the environmental and social aspects of its activities. For this reason, over the years it has devoted increasing attention to sustainability issues, progressively strengthening the integration of environmental, social and governance aspects into its processes and stakeholder relationships. With the aim of sharing its ESG commitment with all stakeholders, the Group has prepared a Social Responsibility Report since 2004. Since 2017, it has prepared a Non-Financial Statement pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/16, and starting from 2024 Gruppo Sella has prepared the Consolidated Sustainability Statement pursuant to Legislative Decree 125/2024.
Gruppo Sella has defined its ESG strategy and positioning with a long-term vision and, on the basis of these elements, which are an integral part of the strategic plan, has built a programme that enables its ambitions to be translated into behaviours, products and services, and ESG considerations to be integrated into business decisions. Specific targets are associated with the Sustainability Plan and are also reflected in remuneration policies.
The Plan has a twofold objective:
- progressively improve its social and environmental performance and strengthen its contribution to the community and stakeholders, in what is defined as “Direct Impact”;
- support its customers in their transition process, including through its financial intermediation activities, in what is defined as “Impact on the Ecosystem”.
The Group continuously measures its environmental, social and governance performance through the B Impact Assessment, which analyses five areas: environment, workers, customers, community and governance.
The result of this self-assessment, which the Group undertook with the support of Nativa, a company specialised in supporting businesses on their sustainability journeys, has grown over time, also thanks to a series of initiatives included in a specific multi-year action plan.
The Group’s strengths identified through the assessment relate to governance, people development, the offering of products to customers and support for the real economy.
The Group’s objective is to continue implementing the already defined action plan in order to improve its ESG performance over time, monitored through specific indicators, including the BIA score.
Sella Group is aware of its economic and social role in the development of initiatives focused on environmental, social and governance sustainability. This translates into a daily commitment to improving its ESG performance over time for the benefit of its stakeholders. The determination to work in line with the Group’s purpose, “to fulfil people’s aspirations by building the sustainable financial ecosystem of the future”, guides the Group’s actions and decisions.
The Group’s objective is to strengthen over time the integration of sustainability topics into its offering and its relationship with people through services, products and advisory activities.
For further information, please refer to the Consolidated Sustainability Statement.
The areas of intervention including both the commitments made in the B Impact Assessment and the activities resulting from the application of the Group's ambitions on ESG issues may be ascribed to the following main areas of work:
Carbon footprint
The Group has defined a Transition Plan that sets emission reduction targets for its own Scope 1 and Scope 2 market-based emissions, as well as decarbonisation targets for its lending portfolio and proprietary portfolio in the sectors with the highest climate impact.
To achieve these objectives, specific decarbonisation levers have been identified, including the procurement of electricity generated from renewable sources, the installation of photovoltaic systems, and the development of products, services and advisory activities aimed at supporting customers and businesses in their transition journeys.
For further information, please refer to the Environment section.
Governance
Formalise the Group’s commitments and strategies by developing and integrating, where necessary, the internal regulations governing the most relevant areas, including but not limited to: the Code of Ethics, the Sustainability Policy, credit policies, proprietary and third-party investment policies, risk management, human resources management and selection, supplier selection, and incentive and remuneration systems. Promote the integration of ESG issues into the strategies of the Group companies, in line with the guidelines defined by the Parent Company. Provide sustainability training to corporate bodies and to the entire Sella team. Learn more in the Consolidated Sustainability Statement section.
Metrics and KPI
Define targets at Group and individual company level for the main ESG areas, integrating them into planning, monitoring and performance evaluation systems. Ensure the ongoing monitoring of the main non-financial indicators and their integration into corporate reporting processes.
Workers
Protect and enhance the individual and professional well-being of people, with a particular focus on education, diversity and inclusion. Promote healthy lifestyles and, through dedicated initiatives and awareness-raising campaigns, foster a culture of sustainability, including through the sharing of specific content via internal communication channels.
Community
Promote initiatives supporting the communities and stakeholders in the territories where the Group operates, supporting and engaging stakeholders through local initiatives. For further information, click here.
Share the Group’s strategy, positioning and activities through communication channels, including the corporate website. Integrate ESG criteria into supplier selection and monitoring processes, in accordance with the policies and procedures adopted by the Group.
Customers
Support customers through advisory activities and a dedicated offering of products and services that integrate environmental, social and governance aspects. The Group has set itself the objective of making the knowledge it has developed on ESG topics available to its customers and of developing partnerships with companies and start-ups that possess specialist expertise in their respective fields.
Within this framework, the activities related to each business line and the corporate functions responsible for risk management and compliance have been identified.
The 2030 Agenda
The UN Agenda 2030, signed in 2015 by over 190 countries, including Italy, has identified the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030.