Tomorrow, Saturday 26 March at 8.30pm local time, UniCredit will turn off the lights in 50 of its buildings across all 13 Group countries for sixty minutes marking the bank’s 15th consecutive year of taking part in Earth Hour. Organised by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), this global movement unites people to take action on environmental issues and protect the planet.

Fiona Melrose, Head of Group Strategy and ESG at UniCredit, said: "Our annual participation in Earth Hour is part of UniCredit’s strong efforts to support sustainability and take action against climate change. During 2021, we signed up to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, publicly declaring our commitment to a more sustainable future and we have also recently enhanced our polices across Coal and Oil & Gas, reinforcing the principles that shape how we operate. We continue to progress on our net zero commitments and embed ESG in all areas of the business while strengthening corporate culture under our common purpose of Empowering Communities to Progress.”

UniCredit puts its clients and communities at the heart of all activities and decisions, with a constant commitment to always serve their needs and be the bank for Europe's future. To concretely showcase how ESG values are embedded in our business and culture, both our Annual and Integrated Reports this year include a series of stories about our clients and people across the different countries of the Group, working together to empower communities and unlock their potential. These highlight UniCredit’s strong ESG ambitions and continued focus on supporting the transition to a more sustainable, better society for all.

Furthermore, our Integrated Report showcases how we are unlocking the potential of our stakeholders across our five capitals (financial, human, social and relationship, intellectual and natural capitals), committing to creating a positive environment based on respect, acting as engines of individual and collective growth, empowering communities to progress and help people, communities, and countries to unlock their potential. Protecting natural capital by delivering sustainable financing solutions to clients and reducing the environmental impact of our direct operations is also fostered by our commitment to a Net-Zero future. To find out more, please see here.

The UniCredit buildings in Russia participating in Earth Hour this year are listed below