The sixth edition of Bank of Valletta’s Corporate Social Responsibility report has been published. This report documents the Bank’s actions and efforts throughout the financial year ending September 2012.

In his first message for the CSR report as the BOV Group’s recently-appointed Chairman, Frederick Mifsud Bonnici explained the importance of transparency, integrity and truth as values which govern this aspect and comparing these values with his own personal principles.

Charles Borg, BOV’s CEO, emphasised that the Bank’s “mission statement stresses our commitment towards sustainable development and demands that we act as responsible and caring citizens”. He added that “adopting a good approach where what is good for society is also seen as being good for the company and the brand. In a 24/7 world, customers are increasingly aware of the power they can leverage over a company’s operations”.

This year’s CSR document reports a notable success in the Bank’s efforts in the greener section. Following the Bank’s appointment of an Environmental Manager in 2011, BOV has reached a number of environmentally-caring objectives including the following:

·           BOV Centre has halved its façade lighting saving around 11,000kg worth of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.

·           The removal of 700 light fittings within BOV Centre has resulted in a total yearly savings of 45,549kg of CO2.

·           261 photovoltaic panels were installed around 16 BOV branches during the past financial year with a reduction of circa 105,000kg of CO2. 14,500 trees would be required to absorb this amount of CO2.

·           The Bank has appointed 60 Green Leaders who will act as ambassadors to promote an environmentally-friendly culture, complementing the Bank’s ongoing green initiatives.

With one of the largest community programmes on the island, the Bank has a responsibility towards the community it operates in. The way forward is challenging yet inspiring, with a commitment towards all stakeholders.

A copy of the CSR report may be obtained from any BOV branch and may be downloaded from BOV’s website www.bov.com