Yannis Stournaras, Governor of the Bank of Greece, on the World Environment Day
06/06/2023 - Speeches
On the occasion of the World Environment Day, Yannis Stournaras, Governor of the Bank of Greece, made the following statement:
“The escalating climate crisis, compounded by the energy crisis, warrants a rapid transition to a more sustainable growth model driven by the contribution and collaboration of all stakeholders.
Central banks and supervisory authorities across the globe continue to contribute to this end, within their mandate, by further incorporating sustainability considerations into their operations. The Bank of Greece continues its work on climate change and sustainability through various actions within a wide range of its activities, in accordance also with its United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) pledge.[1]
As regards the environmental footprint of its own activities, in order to fulfil its pledge to reduce it, the Bank of Greece has established an environmental policy, aiming to harmonise all of its activities with the environmental protection principles, by also applying a comprehensive ISO-certified Environmental Management System (EMS). In addition, it carries out a number of environmental actions as part of the “BoGreen – Bank of Green” programme.
Convinced that we all ought to leave a positive footprint on society, the Bank of Greece aims to develop its activities in harmony with the environment and to enhance its actions that reduce environmental impacts and, thus, promote the social, environmental and economic development pillars of sustainable development”.
The “BoGreen” actions pertain to activities of both the Bank’s Mint and the rest of the Bank’s Units, including, indicatively:
- application of bioclimatic architectural design principles to its new buildings;
- modernisation of old buildings through energy upgrade projects in their facilities;
- phasing out of energy-intensive boilers and utilisation of alternative energy sources;
- rational water consumption and use of drill water;
- a wide-range recycling programme;
- minimisation of waste and optimisation of waste management;
- energy production from destroyed banknotes;
- gradual reduction of the print run of the Bank’s regular publications;
- introduction of “green criteria” in procurement; and
- actions to inform and raise the environmental awareness of its staff.