Dear illimity friends,
Today, we are presenting our 2021 Consolidated Non-Financial Statement. Although this is a regulatory requirement, at illimity it also has a far deeper meaning. For us, it is about providing an account for our stakeholders of the responsibility that guides us each and every day as we work with entrepreneurs and companies on their development and turnaround plans, as we find new value in loans for struggling companies, and as we provide innovative banking services that make life simpler for people and firms. It is the same responsibility that underlies our efforts to ensure the professional development and well-being of our illimiters - our most valuable form of capital.
Sustainability is an integral part of everything illimity does and it is a fundamental part of our identity. We not only want to create profit, but also value, providing all our stakeholders with sustainable, lasting benefit.
We presented our new 2021-2025 Strategic Plan in June 2021 and, despite only slightly over 2 years having passed since illimity was created, it sets out ambitious new targets. This Plan also reiterates the Bank’s ESG commitments and ambitions, fostering an approach in which sustainability is a cornerstone of everything we do through aspects such as the progressive inclusion of ESG factors in loan decisions, a commitment to keeping the Group carbon neutral and the key step of launching activities to measure the emissions of the businesses we finance so mitigation steps can be implemented. Through fondazione illimity, we have commenced real estate projects designed to have a social impact, with the first such project due to be completed in 2022. Our Distressed Credit Division is continuing our work to get renewable energy plants back up and running. As further proof of our collective commitment to sustainability, we have integrated ESG targets into our bonus schemes for top management and into the performance system for all our illimiters.
We proudly joined the United Nations Global Compact, seeing this step as a critical moment on our sustainable development pathway and a commitment to promoting the ten fundamental principles through cooperation agreements and partnerships with an array of stakeholders.
illimity’s success owes much to the team of over 700 female and male staff members from 300 different organisations and 25 different nationalities - and these numbers are still growing. This diversity of professional experience and expertises helps us to think outside of the box in a paradigm of always seeking to innovate. The sense of togetherness and of belonging that pervades the illimity Group is what led, for the third straight year, the Group to be recognised as a Great Place to Work® and to be ranked as one of the Best Workplaces in Europe for the first time.
The last two years have been marked by healthcare, social and economic crises, but we have grown during this time, launching new projects and keeping our promise to stand by SMEs, particularly in moments of trouble and uncertainty, and especially to help them redefine supply chains and tackle rising commodity prices. illimity was born to support SMEs and now we are able to support them all, not only the mid-to-large segment. At the beginning of the year we launched b-ilty, the first digital business store for financial and credit services designed specifically to help smaller SMEs with specific needs.
In line with the goals of Italy’s post-Covid Recovery Plan, we want to be at the forefront of helping companies make a digital and ecological transition as part of accelerating economic and social growth and development processes, and promoting the shift towards renewable energies. We want to help drive a robust, digital ecosystem, potentially through strategic and commercial partnerships that focus on sustainability topics. A good example of this is our current Open-es initiative, a digital platform launched by Italian energy giant Eni that is open to all businesses in order to support the sustainable development of supply chains. And there are other examples, such as our strategic partnership with the ION Group, a company with which we share a vision as to the importance of technological development in the future.
In 2022, it will definitely be necessary to tackle some key social and economic challenges, and at illimity we plan to play our part.
