Foreword

LIFE ENVIRONMENT |LIFE and Climate CHANGE mitigationpromote individual and corporate social responsibilityin a sustainable society,” says Vrasidas Zavras,the General Manager of Piraeus Bank Green Banking.Vrasidas Zavras (left), General Manager of Piraeus Bank, withHans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director (middle) and TimoMäkelä from DG Environment (right)their climate risk by 22% per year and lessen theircarbon footprint by 70% per year.Advice networkDuring the project, Piraeus Bank employees took partin a series of workshops and e-learning sessionsto enable them to use the CRM to advise customers.A total of 170 green banking advisers and 68small business officers learned about climate riskmitigation measures in order to suggest appropriateinvestments. In the campaign “Climate drives business”,launched in autumn 2012, trained staff thenworked with more than 1 000 clients, estimatingtheir climate risk and the costs of the solutions for itsreduction. “Piraeus Bank’s pivotal strategy is to supportand finance companies, institutions, organisationsand projects which offer added value and whichbenefit people and the environment by supportingdeposit accounts holders and investors wishing toPhoto: LIFE08 ENV/GR/000552More green banking productsThe beneficiary also developed a web-based tool forthe Green Banking portal that it rolled out during thecourse of the project. This ‘climabiz calculator’, whichcan be accessed through http://www.greenbanking.gr,is a simplified version of the Climate Risk ManagementModel and allows the bank’s business customers to getan indication of the climate risk and available climatemitigation measures for their sector in general.The project results will be further developed andused in the coming years. In 2012, the bank beganincorporating the CRM into its standard proceduresso that it becomes an iintegral part of its credit policies.The model is also currently being updated sothat it provides a more in-depth data assessment forthe agriculture and tourism sectors.“The incorporation of climate-related risk into clients’risk profiles would result in a much wider green businessconscience among the business community inEurope and can help banks obtain a much ‘healthier’client portfolio,” Mr Dimopoulos explains. A wider applicationof tools such as the CRM could also help regionalauthorities calculate the total mitigation costfor the local business community in order to createappropriate climate change policies.Furthermore, it could also be useful for the EuropeanCommission in the development of policy and operationalobjectives for structural funds targeted atlow-emission economies.Photo: EC/Patrick MascartMr Dimopoulos believes that “businesses play a vitalrole in the mitigation of climate change. They can becomea key player by reducing their greenhouse gasemissions. Since more stringent regulations, such ascarbon taxes, are likely in our future, businesses wouldbe wise to ramp up energy reduction and efficiency efforts,and to reduce their carbon emissions.”Project number: LIFE08 ENV/GR/000552Title: ClimaBiz – Financial Institutions: Preparing the Marketfor adapting to Climate ChangeBeneficiary: Pireaus Bank SAContact: Dimitris DimopoulosEmail: environment@piraeusbank.grWebsite: http://www.climabiz.gr/Period: 11-Jan-2010 to 31-Dec-2012Total budget: €1 850 000LIFE contribution: €924 00082