The Consolidated Non-Financial Statement reports our action and commitment towards ESG issues.
From the day we were created
Our commitment
In June 2021 we presented the new 2021-2025 Strategic Plan which sets out our latest ambitious targets. The Plan also reaffirms the Bank’s commitment to ESG issues by encouraging full integration of sustainability into business activities.
Letter to Stakeholders 2021
Dear friends of illimity,
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 …
A materiality analysis is a key part of identifying the environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities for illimity and our stakeholders. The process is guided by the Bank's purpose, benchmarks and industry trends, the Strategic Plan and an in-depth analysis of media publications. The identified themes are then surveyed further both inside the Group and externally by involving our stakeholders.
We use various channels to involve illimiters: company Intranet, newsletters, internal surveys, events, and online and in-presence staff meetings. Constantly listening is a fundamental principle for our focus on our human capital.
Clients are engaged through a variety of touchpoints: consumer and corporate websites, illimity app, regular surveys, communication initiatives tailored to client needs, smart care and social networks.
We engage partners who share our expertise, innovation and cooperative approach to provide comprehensive, integrated solutions using regular calls, the illimity website and online and in-presence events and conferences.
Selecting our suppliers is driven by illimity’s Procurement Area, which supports the offices to finding the right suppliers and to ensure the subsequent relationship is built on transparency and efficiency.
Investor Relations is in charge of managing relations with shareholders, using regular calls, roadshows and the Shareholders’ Meeting. The corporate website has a special section in which company documentation can be downloaded.
We establish relations with the media who share our ideas, stepping up the value of people and projects. By way of calls, interviews, emails and events we build solid relationships to demonstrate our commitment.
The social ecosystem consists of all the associations and organisations with whom we work to create social impact at a local level. Through e-mails, regular conference calls and events we involve the ecosystem building long-term projects together.
The creation of our “Vai Oltre la Forma” community is pursued through various channels: through weekly surveys, interviews, meet-ups, focus groups and questionnaires we give voice to people, by activating a direct channel with them, open to sharing.
Our materiality matrix is based on assessing themes of potential relevance for the Bank and our stakeholders. The matrix was updated following the materiality analysis in November 2021 involving over 1,100 internal and external stakeholders. In addition to the priority themes identified by the survey, as shown in the matrix, there are several topics that are inherently important for illimity: "Integrity, regulatory compliance and combating fraud, money laundering and corruption", "Cyber risk, Data Management & Security, Privacy", "Clear and transparent communication, brand and reputation", and "Protecting human rights".
Importance for stakeholders
Importance for illimity
Partnership development & consolidation
Environmental impacts and climate-related challenges
Customer focus
People empowerment, engagement and wellbeing
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Sustainable finance
Robustness and creation of shared value
Innovation and digital transformation
Support for SMEs
Highlights
46
Net Promoter Score
Loyalty index and word-of-mouth capacity of retail customers
82%
Overall satisfaction for illimiters
illimity was certified as a "Great Place to Work" and as “Best Workplaces in Europe”
49
Average training hours per employee
Above industry average
2,537
Greenhouse gas emissions avoided (tCO2e)
Emissions avoided through the partnerships established by the Energy Desk of the Distressed Credit Division
85.5%
Collaborative Agreement Index
Distressed credit, out-of-court agreements
as percentage of total
532
Greenhouse gas emissions (tCO2 eq)
Scope 1 and Scope 2 that we will offset through certified carbon credits
Figures at 31/12/2021.
The pillars of sustainability
The corporate governance system matches best international practices and sets out a Board of Directors with numerous independent members (7 of 9) and people of high standing that have key and complementary expertise and experience.
Since the company was listed, we have adopted the Corporate Governance Code for Listed Companies first approved by Borsa Italiana's Corporate Governance Committee in March 2006 and regularly updated, the last time in July 2018. In December 2020, the Board of Directors resolved to adopt the new Corporate Governance Code approved by the Corporate Governance Committee.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting of 21 February 2022, shareholders gave their majority approval to the new version of the Corporate Bylaws by which the Bank adopts a “one-tier” management and control model. Shareholders also approved the proposal by which the Board of Directors should lead the Company by pursuing sustainable success for the purpose of creating long-term value for shareholders, taking into account the interests of illimity’s significant stakeholders.
Sustainability issues are monitored in accordance with the best practices by a Board Committee that was specifically formed for this purpose in January 2020 and has three members.
illimity's Sustainability Board Committee is tasked with supporting the Board of Directors and it has the power to advise and formulate proposals in relation to assessments and decisions on sustainability issues. The Committee promotes a responsible and sustainable culture in the Group and makes proposals to the Board for the definition of medium and long-term sustainability goals.
The Board of Directors materiality matrix created through stakeholder engagement and the Consolidated Non-financial Disclosure, which represents and communicates the Bank's commitment, results and goals for improvement on sustainability themes.
The Strategy, Sustainability & Investor Relations Department oversees the Group’s sustainability activities and controls the monitoring and reporting process for these matters, in constant collaboration with the Group’s various Divisions and Departments.
Then there are the ESG Ambassadors, staff identified in the various Divisions and Departments who are in charge of developing specific ESG initiatives and fostering a sustainability culture within their teams.
illimity Way
Identity, values, commitment, people and resources. Integrity manual of the illimity Bank Group.
Find out more
The pillars of sustainability
When speaking about human capital, many factors must be considered, including the company culture, the expertise and diversity of employees, the welfare initiatives, and the compensation policies, to mention only some.
At illimity, human resources management is based on three fundamental pillars: talent, engagement and digitalisation.
Across every level of our organisation, we provide people with opportunities to grow based on training and the development of personal and professional skills. Uncovering talent starts right from recruitment and follows employees throughout their career thanks to personalised development plans. Engagement initiatives ensure every illimiter feels part of a shared project. The company's flat structure encourages the sense that every individual can have an impact on the end results and fosters communication between employees and their bosses. Process digitalisation helps simplify certain aspects of the work lives of employees.
Diversity and inclusion are essential, distinctive elements. At illimity, we work hard to go beyond physical, communication and cultural barriers, adopting an approach that places great importance on inclusion. We cultivate diversity in gender, age, culture, skills and experience, forging a heritage on which to build value and trust. On 31 December 2021, the Group had 725 employees from 20 industries, over 300 companies and 25 nationalities. The average age is 36 and the most representative generation is the junior millennials, meaning from 25 to 32 years old.
The company's welfare policy is also cutting edge. The flexible benefits system enables each illimiter to customise his or her welfare according to individual and family needs.
This is truly a system of policies, initiatives and actions that place the individual at the centre.
Related initiatives
illimitHER, a Diversity & Inclusion programme from illimity to make the most of the potential of young women.
Find out more
The pillars of sustainability
Our purpose is to provide SMEs with growth potential with loans when such companies require specialist support or have had problems. We guide SMEs through a process of development, restructuring and relaunching, which brings a positive social impact and knock-on effect, helping to keep jobs and bolster local manufacturing.
Total investments made in 2021 with the specific objective of turning around companies in financial difficulty amounted to 249 million euros. Financing with effects and benefits in the environmental sphere totalled 37 million euros in operations impacting the circular economy and renewable energy sectors.
Our Distressed Credit Division is committed to helping struggling businesses, engaging in constructive dialogue that will help them resolve their debts and potentially start operating again. The division adopts a very professional approach to such relations, identifying focused actions designed to find mutually agreeable out-of-court settlements that speed up the resolution of such matters.
In 2019, we recognised that the energy industry could become an area of specialisation and so a specific desk was established, with technical and legal professional experience in energy and the environment. The business model is built on a partnership with a party with a solid industrial track record and sets out direct action in managing installations to get them back up to full green production, while helping to avoid emissions of greenhouse gases.
Consistent with the Group’s sustainability strategy, illimity SGR directs the investment decisions it takes for its Funds by respecting environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, with the aim on the one hand of generating sustainable value over time, which also takes into consideration the economic, social and environmental impact that individual businesses can produce at a local level, and on the other of satisfying investors’ interests, mitigating any financial, operating and reputational risks. Further information can be found in the ESG Investment Policy (abstract).
Given the United Nations’ principles on the approach to business and human rights, and consistent with the strategic orientations of the Bank and the guidelines expressed in its credit strategies, illimity has also set out the economic sectors excluded from its investments in greater detail. Further information can be found in the Consolidated Credit Procedure.
Related initiatives
illimity Stories. We work side-by-side with SMEs in Italy with a single goal: uncover their potential, together.
Find out more
The pillars of sustainability
Being a new paradigm bank without any legacy equates to innovatively combining a business model characterized by structural and sustainable competitive benefits with a strategy focused on major market segments that are not suitably covered by the traditional players.
At illimity, innovation is a strategic lever found across the organisation, from the corporate culture to the operating processes and technological infrastructure.
We firmly believe that when innovation is spread across every level of an organisation, it becomes the driver for generating value for the entire company. Thus, it is essential for innovation to be seamlessly integrated into every division, area and team and to have shared processes that enable illimiters to work in cross-cutting teams that, also, increase their skills, generate new ideas and identify new opportunities.
A capacity to innovative plays a role in achieving business targets and responds to customers' needs through a new, inclusive and collaborative model that uses synergistic services designed around the needs of businesses and people.
The pillars of sustainability
The business model adopted by the illimity Group, with a 100% digital infrastructure that is entirely on the cloud, is designed to reduce our direct environmental impact and use resources more efficiently. Right from our creation, we have been committed to monitoring and reporting our energy consumption, our greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation, partly in response to the rules on environmental protection set out by constantly developing EU regulations and Italian and regional laws.
illimity's business model, with no branch offices and a digital, cloud-based infrastructure, intrinsically aims at combating climate change. Despite this, since 2020 the Group has launched a project approach, aimed at defining a carbon neutrality strategy based on calculating the company's carbon footprint, identifying ways of improving efficiency, reducing emissions and selecting certified carbon credits to offset the company’s non-avoidable emissions (Scope 1 e Scope 2).
During 2021 the Group purchased gradually increasing percentages of electricity supplied with Guarantees of Origin (GOs), electronic certificates issued by the Energy Services Manager (Gestore dei Servizi Energetici - GSE) which guarantee that the energy consumed has been produced from renewable sources, to mitigate the environmental impact arising from its usage. As of today, GOs cover the whole of illimity’s electricity needs and a portion of those of neprix, representing 32% of the consumption of the energy purchased by the Group.
In 2020, with the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy, the Bank swiftly developed a series of initiatives to help protect the health of everyone who works for or with illimity, and to support our corporate and retail clients.
Related initiatives
illimity is carbon neutral. The path we chose for a more sustainable future through the measurement, mitigation and offsetting of emissions.
Find out moreThe path we chose to undertake together with national and international realities to be, day by day, more sustainable and to promote the dialogue between stakeholders.
UN Global Compact
Membership
UN Global Compact
Since 2021 illimity has been committed to the UN Global Compact corporate responsibility initiative and its principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. The UN Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, present in over 160 countries, born from the desire to promote a sustainable global economy that welcomes the challenges of climate change and promotes positive social and economic impacts in the long term.
illimity has drafted its Sustainability Report 2020 pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 254/2016, which implemented EU Directive 95/2014 on the disclosure of non-financial information, and in compliance with GRI Standards, the global guidelines for sustainability reporting. The Report was approved by the Board of Directors on 10 March 2022 and subjected to assurance by an external audit firm.
Rosalba Casiraghi
Patrizia Canziani
Elena Cialliè
Silvia Benzi
