Grupo Santander is a banking group centered on BancoSantander, the largest bank in the euro area, which originated in Santander,Cantabria, Spain. Santander focuses activities on Continental Europe. (Santander, Banesto, Santander Totta, Santander Consumer Finance), United Kingdom (Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley's) and Latin America under its own brand and following the integration of Banco Real.
ownership
listed on Bolsa de Madrid, Borsa Italia, London Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext
publicly listed
headquarters
Ciudad Grupo Santander. Avda. de Cantabria, s/n
28660 Boadilla del Monte (MADRID)
Spain
position top 1000 the Banker
In million US$. Ranking according to Tier 1 capital, as per definition Bank of International Settlements (BIS)
The CDP impels organisations to record their carbon footprint in daily activities. Encouraging enterprises to calculate and disclose their carbon impact, this initiative highlights the challenge for financial institutions to determine exactly how much carbon output can be attributed to financing.
Voluntary framework to guide the finance sector in tackling the challenge of climate change. They address the management of operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide direction on managing climate change in research activities; asset management; retail banking; insurance & re-insurance; corporate banking; investment banking & markets; project finance.
The EPs are a set of guidelines, based upon the Performance Standards and guidelines from the IFC, the World Bank's private sector lending arm for private banks to asesses and mitigate risks in project finance. Banks use the Principles to guide internal operating procedures for transaction for specific projects. Although the EPs are an important step to raise overall standards of financiers and projects in the developing world, they currently fall short on transparency and governance requirements.
The verification and full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining is supported by the EITI. Financial institutions can participate and encourage resource-rich countries to support the initiative that aims to defeat poverty, corruption and conflict caused by weak transparency and accountability.
As the name suggests, the GRI aims to standardise good practice in transparency. GRI provides companies with guidelines to organise their annual report with reporting indices and standards addressing environmental, social and economic issues that business ought to address when telling the world about its performance.
The UN Global Compact is a set of ten principles that companies may sign voluntarily. Signatories promise to avoid complicity in human rights violations, adhere to labour standards, protect the environment and avoid corruption. The G8 countries urge companies to participate in this initiative, and with over 2900 companies signing up, the Global Compact has momentum. A voluntary and network based framework, the Global Compact actively promotes peer review and stakeholder participation.
UNEP is the 'voice of the environment' for the United Nations system, promoting international cooperation in the field of the environment. Issues concerning the financial community are addressed by the UNEP Finance Initiative which promotes investment in clean and renewable energy by financial institutions and other investors. Financial insititutions wishing to join must sign one of two Statements (for financial institutions and a separate one for the insurance industry).
UNPRI is a set of six principles direct institutional investors may adopt to consider environmental, social and corporate governance issues when investing. Voluntary and aspirational in nature, UNPRI has since its inception in 2006 attracted 200 signatories, representing US$8 trillion worth of investments.
Since the turn of the century a group of twelve banks known as the Wolfsberg Group have collaborated to improve ethical standards. The principles provide guidance on money laundering, corruption and the financing of terrorism. They have been produced to address deficiencies in areas 'yet to be fully articulated by lawmakers or regulators'.
Santander's Social
and Environmental Policy include requirements for project finance on issues
like: biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources,
labour standards, prevention of contamination and the emission of hazardous
waste, community health and safety, land acquisition and voluntary resettlement,
indigenous villages and cultural heritage. The Group pays special attention to
the social and environmental risks of the sectors: agriculture, fishing,
livestock and forestry, infrastructure, tourist developments, energy (dams,
renewable energies, gas, oil), aquifers (desalting plants, wastewater treatment
plants), games and betting, and weapons. Apart from some exclusion criteria
there are no specific requirements for companies and the policy seems to apply
to project finance only. As such it is a repetition of the Equator Principles
and the document cannot be accredited additional points were it is already
granted points for signing these or other collective policies. Because this
policy also mentions agriculture, fishing, forestry and military industry it
will be accredited one point on these sectors too.
agriculture
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5
arms industry and trade
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5
fisheries
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5
forestry
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5
mining
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1
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5
oil and gas
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1
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5
power generation
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1
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5
biodiversity
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1
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5
climate change
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1
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5
corruption
0
1
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5
human rights
0
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5
indigenous peoples
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5
labour
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5
operation in conflict zones
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5
taxation
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5
toxics
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5
accountability
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5
transparency
0
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4
5
additional information
headquarters
Ciudad Grupo Santander. Avda. de Cantabria, s/n
28660 Boadilla del Monte (MADRID)
Spain
position top 1000 the Banker
In million US$. Ranking according to Tier 1 capital, as per definition Bank of International Settlements (BIS)
The Jaitapur project plans to host two European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) of 1,650 MWe each, with possible extension by four additional units. The Generation III+ class…
HidroAysén - owned by European company Endesa and Chilean company Colbun - plans to dam two of Chile's most powerful and pristine rivers, the Baker and Pascua Rivers.…
Located in the state of Rondônia - Brazil, the Madeira River is the principal tributary of the Amazon River, with its basin covering about one-quarter of the Brazilian…
Ecuador's Yasuni National Park is threatened by planned oil development by the Brazilian oil company Petrobras. The oil development will take place in Block 31, two thirds…
The Grasberg mine, located in the indonesian province of Papua, on the island New Guinea, just north of Australia, is being run by the mining company Freeport McMoran. The…
BankTrack has identified controversial issues
with the companies listed below that require attention from Santander.
Freeport McMoRan
Freeport McMoRan is an international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Freeport McMoran operates primarily in copper-, gold- and molybdenum mines.Freeport…
Letter to BankTrack as a response to BT letter of February 11, 2010
Mar 29, 2010 | Equator Principles Financial Insititutions, Citi
The first response ever to one of the letters BankTrack sent to the Equator Principles Financial Insititutions. It is a response to the BankTrack follow up letter after the meeting in Zuerich, February 4.
May 05, 2009 | Juan Pablo Orrego del Consejo de Defensa de la Patagonia, Chile
Letter to Borja Baselga of Banco Santander from the Patagonia Defence Council, concerning the mega hydroelectric project threatening the Chilean Patagonia
Correspondencia: Ministerio de relaciones y cultos de la República de Bolivia al ministro de relaciones exteriores de la República Federerativa del Brasil
Jul 10, 2007 | David Choquehuanca, ministro de relaciones exteriores y cultos
The Bolivian minister of foreign relations expresses his concern about the lincensing of the Rio Madeira projects given that the two hydroelectic dams are bound to have great environmental impacts in the Bolivian territory that have so far been ignored.
Using the 2011 Global Investor Statement on Climate Change, investors will advocate for investment grade climate change and energy policies at the national and international level.
Brazil offers Bolivia "a gift" - but at what cost?
Nov 20, 2007 | Glenn Switkes
Article: Brazil offers to finance a 3,000 MW binational dam upstream at Guajará Mirim, a border city in Rodônia, to form the hydroelectric dam system with other rivers in Bolivia, like the Madre de Dios river.
Pronunciamiento de los Pueblos Amazónicos de Bolivia y Brasil frente a la próxima reunión de los presidentes de los gobiernos de Bolivia y Brazil, Evo Morales e Ingácio Lula da Silva, sobre las represas del río Madera
Feb 03, 2007 | Representatives of towns and communities of the Amazon region of Bolivia and Brazil
Representatives of the towns and communities of the Amazon region in Bolivia and Brazil declare their alliance with the Social Movement in Defence of the Rio Madeira and Amazon basins to fight for their rights and territory. (In Spanish)
International website developed by BankTrack, CRBM, Les Amis de la Terre, Netwerk Vlaanderen, Platform, Setem and Urgewald.
Information in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish.
SETEM's web site 'Finanzas Eticas' about Ethical and Non-Ethical finance in Spain & Europe, currently in Spanish but soon to be available in English also.
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