Finandina, the first Colombian bank to obtain the ‘Nobel Prize’ for sustainability

Finandina achieved the ‘Nobel Prize’ in the world of sustainability: the B Corp Certificate, the most important seal of social, environmental and corporate governance impact on the planet and the evidence that it complies with the standards highest in matters of sustainability, social impact, environment, transparency and good governance practices.

It is the first bank in Colombia to have this relevant global certification and the second in Latin America. To achieve this success, which only 4% of applicants achieve, Finandina ambitiously decided five years ago to submit to the demanding standards of B Lab International to become a certified B Corp.

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In this long and difficult journey, he had to go through a system of self appraisal, in which a minimum score is requested to start the audit stage and in which many companies crack.

Then, the verification phase of two rounds, with two teams of different international auditors, and, in the last stage, three committees: the verification of judicial and administrative contingencies, the prevention of greenwashing (ecoimposture) and the one that validates that the company complies with all the requirements of good governance, ethics and anti-corruption practices.

The process to achieve this certification is so strict and demanding that today, in the world, of the nearly 5,000 companies B certified, only 25 are banks and Finandina is the first in our country.

“This certification, which fills us with pride, recognizes our leadership and maturity in terms of sustainability and places us as a benchmark in the global financial sector. Today we are the bank that leads the change in sustainability issues and the one that marks out the positioning of the Colombian banking in the world”, explained Orlando Forero, general manager of Finandina.

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B Corp companies operate as engines of change with triple impact objectives: economic, social and environmental. Their philosophy is to be “the best for the world”, not just “the best in the world”, they use their resources and influence in the market to achieve transformations that generate well-being and their goal is to go beyond economic gains as they seek to maximize their positive impact on its employees, the communities they serve and the environment.

They also have four essential elements: purpose (they are motivated by the creation of a positive impact on society and the environment), legal requirement (they extend the fiduciary duty of shareholders and managers to include non-financial interests), interdependence (they declare themselves an active part of a community) and certification (they are evaluated and commit to improve their management standards and transparency).

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“In our case, we contribute to the progress of people by enabling opportunities through friendly, transparent, eco-efficient digital banking, which promotes a more inclusive society, drives green economy and it makes it easier for Colombians to improve their quality of life”, added Adriana Lucía Rueda, Secretary General and Sustainability Leader of Banco Finandina.

This certification also recognizes its innovative operating model and sets a benchmark for Colombian banking. The B Corp certificate is the ‘Nobel Prize’ in the world of sustainability and the most important seal of social, environmental and corporate governance impact on the planet.

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