in 2021 the greenhouse gas emissions of the Bank of Italy they have decreased by about 20% compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. This is what emerges from Environmental Report 2022 of the institute, which this year also includes a series of methodological notes with the declared aim of giving "a contribution to the ongoing debate on calculation methodologies and on the databases used for the construction of environmental indicators". In particular, Via Nazionale includes in the calculation not only the direct emissions produced by its structures, but also those directly attributable to suppliers or imported by other roads. An indirect suggestion to private groups, who could follow this example to finally build a shared standard and thus obtain comparable data.
Bank of Italy: savings on electricity, water and paper
The Report states that since 2013 Bankitalia has been buying exclusively electric energy from certified renewable sources. On the consumption side, from 2019 those of drinking water decreased by 14%, while the purchases of letter for office they fell by 59% (and 63% of the paper used is recycled). In the same period, the consumption of paper for publications decreased by 25 percent.
Bank of Italy: the recycling and disposal of banknotes
Furthermore, the Bank of Italy "is committed, together with the ECB and the other central banks of the Eurosystem, to reducing the environmental impact associated with the production, distribution, recirculation and disposal of euro banknotes - states a note – In 2021, 88% of shredded worn-out banknotes were sent to waste-to-energy plants or plants for the production of secondary solid fuel”. The goal is "to reach 100% by the end of 2022".
International collaborations
Finally, since last January Bankitalia has been part of the strategic guidance body of the "Network for Greening the Financial System” (NGFS), which includes more than 116 institutions between central banks and supervisory authorities and coordinates studies and exchanges of experience on environmental and climate risk management in the financial sector.
In June the Bank of Italy took over, together with the Central Bank of New Zealand, the coordination of the working group "Net Zero for Central Banks”, which will conduct insights on topics related to sustainable investments, central bank reporting on climate and environmental risks and actions to reduce the carbon footprint of internal operations.
