Environmental protection constitutes a key pillar of the Bank’s social responsibility. Aiming to reduce the environmental impact of its activities, the Bank carries out a number of environmental actions as part of the “BoGreen – Bank of Green” programme.
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.
Environmental Policy and ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Standard
The Environmental Policy of the Bank of Greece was established in May 2021, aiming to harmonise all of its activities with the environmental protection principles, by applying a comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS).
The Environmental Policy covers the entire range of the Bank’s internal activities and its implementation is governed by the following main principles:
- managing resources optimally and undertaking actions aiming to reduce the environmental footprint;
- complying with the applicable legislation;
- informing and raising the environmental awareness of staff, associated agencies and society;
- motivating supervised companies and credit institutions;
- contributing to addressing environmental issues at a national level; and
- constantly evaluating environmental performance.
In addition, the Bank’s EMS has received official certification, in accordance with the principles of the ISO 14001:2015 international standard, following an audit by a Certification Body accredited by the Hellenic Accreditation System (ESYD) and registered with the International Certification Network (IQNet). The scope of certification covers the entire range of services provided by the Bank of Greece at its facilities, both in Attica and in regional Greece.
ISO 14001:2015 certification has also been obtained by the Banknote Printing Works Department (IETA), which strictly adheres to European and national legislation on environmental protection, encourages the reuse of materials and recycles or recovers most of the waste it generates.