Sustainability: the Bank steps up
For years, we’ve talked about sustainability as if it were a label – something to earn and then build a story around. But what if it’s much more than that? What if it’s actually a strategic asset that can create value, boost efficiency and future-proof an institution?
"We’ve uncovered something of a hidden gem: a stream running beneath the Banco de España’s famous Gold Chamber. Until now we had been collecting that water and pumping it out, but we’ve now started to measure and analyse it, because it could help us cut our water use in the Cibeles building by as much as 25%."
You can listen to this episode in other languages by choosing your preferred audio track in the YouTube settings. The dubbing is done automatically and has not been reviewed by the Banco de España.
In this episode we dive into energy use in historic buildings, technology and carbon footprints, recycling and the circular economy, and show that the future’s still green.
On World Environment Day, in this episode of CIENxCIEN Ana Comellas hosts an outdoor roundtable with experts from across the Bank to look at sustainability from the inside: how it works in practice, how it’s measured and, above all, how it translates into real decisions.
Alicia de Quinto, economist at the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Office, opens the episode by pointing out that climate risks are still growing and require action, even if today’s geopolitical context makes that more difficult: “green hasn’t gone out of fashion, but it is under pressure”. While some countries and organisations have scaled back their commitments, the evidence is clear: sustainability isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s also an economic and financial one.
From that starting point, we hear from experts in different areas, tracing sustainability across the full life cycle of services and products within the institution: from procurement to end of life.
Technology plays a key role here. “Technology can be used sustainably, but it takes commitment from the whole organisation,” explains Miguel Ángel Peña, head of the Employee Digital Experience Division. In practice, this commitment shows up in choices like selecting more energy-efficient equipment, designing more efficient data centres from the outset or using artificial intelligence responsibly. Because even the things we don’t see, like digital infrastructure, leave an environmental footprint.
Sustainability also shapes how spaces as complex as the Banco de España’s buildings are designed and managed. Damián Gemeno, head of the Maintenance and Works Division, stresses that “this drive for efficiency has been part of the Bank’s DNA since the 19th century, for example in the original design of the Cibeles building, which featured numerous windows intended to maximise natural light”.
Even in areas where there’s less room to act, such as structural energy use linked to security or the institution’s continuous operation, reviews and improvements never stop, helping to alleviate the environmental impact over time.
Among the work carried out in these buildings, one industrial activity stands out: the production and distribution of cash. “Banknotes are the end product of an industrial process with an environmental impact that we try to reduce at every stage,” explains Rubén Ortuño, manager of the Technology Unit in the Cash Technology and Innovation Division.
From the choice of materials (recycled cotton) to what happens when banknotes are destroyed at the end of their useful life, the environmental impact of the entire cycle is constantly measured and optimised. The annual environmental impact of the cash used by one person over a year is equivalent to driving 8 km by car. To put this into perspective, washing a cotton T-shirt once a week over the same period is equivalent to driving 55 km.
One of the key ideas in the episode is the importance of measuring things that aren’t always visible. Few people are better placed to explain how consumption is translated into equivalent emissions than Victoria Díaz, environmental specialist in the Environmental Risk Prevention Unit: “We all need to look at the impact our day-to-day actions have on the environment and decide where we can make a difference.”
The episode closes on a shared idea: sustainability isn’t a slogan, it’s a way of doing things. From institutional commitment to small individual actions, every step counts. Because in uncertain times, sustainability isn’t just responsible, it’s also financially smart.
