2023: a year of sustainable initiatives. Here are few of them

Banca Sella successfully closed the issuance of its first green bond with a total demand of 100 million euros, doubling the initial amount of the offer. The net proceeds collected are intended to finance new or existing loans, investments and projects selected in the field of sustainable construction, renewable energy and energy efficiency, based on the criteria provided for by the "Sella Green Bond Framework". The programme has been drafted according to the 2021 Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association, and accompanied by the second-party opinion of the independent company ISS ESG. 

Banca Sella has launched a loan aimed at enterprises that aim to stimulate and promote virtuous behaviour on the part of companies that benefit from the granting of credit by the bank. The Sustainability-linked Loan combines, with traditional unsecured financing, the introduction of covenants linked to the achievement of objectives related to the three ESG pillars: Environment, Social, and Governance. Upon achieving the ESG objectives, shared and contracted during the stipulation phase, the company obtains a reduction in the rate applied to the loan itself.

In order to invest in the growth projects of Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps and at the same time support them in generating a positive impact on the economy, society and the environment, the 100 million euros "Sustainability-linked Basket Bond" programme by Cassa Depositi e Prestititi (CDP), Mediocredito Centrale (MCC) and Sella was launched. The new resources expanded the programme launched in 2021, which thus reaches a total of 200 million to support the growth and development plans of smaller Italian companies. The new finance is linked to the achievement by companies of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) objectives, and their achievement will guarantee a reduction in the cost of financing. Sella plays the role of arranger through the Corporate & Investment Banking division. 

In order to invest in the growth projects of Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps and at the same time support them in generating a positive impact on the economy, society and the environment, the 100 million euros "Sustainability-linked Basket Bond" programme by Cassa Depositi e Prestititi (CDP), Mediocredito Centrale (MCC) and Sella was launched. The new resources expanded the programme launched in 2021, which thus reaches a total of 200 million to support the growth and development plans of smaller Italian companies. The new finance is linked to the achievement by companies of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) objectives, and their achievement will guarantee a reduction in the cost of financing. Sella plays the role of arranger through the Corporate & Investment Banking division. 

On 18 May 2023, the Group's experimental agreement on "extended" remote working was extended until June 2024, in agreement with the labour unions, which provides for the possibility of obtaining remote working days up to 13 average days per month on an annual basis, with a possible extension of up to 15 for fragile subjects categories, caregivers and colleagues with residence or domicile distant from the workplace. 

In 2023, Our Group reconfirmed the possibility, for the Group’s colleagues, to use a Time Bank, meaning a fund fed by the voluntary donation of holidays by colleagues from which other colleagues in a situation of need and that no longer have holidays available can draw on. In addition, the possibility of taking advantage of the volunteer permit, a paid working day for volunteering activities in favour of organisations and associations, remains confirmed.

For the third consecutive year, the entire Sella Team has had a free, anonymous and confidential psychological listening service with a professional listening expert 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

In order to guarantee colleagues opportunities to improve their physical well-being in the workplace and beyond, free urban walking appointments were organised during the lunch break, yoga sessions at reduced costs and video pills were made with behavioural and postural advice to be taken into account when carrying out their daily work.

The promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle is one of the themes that have been at the centre of the involvement and awareness-raising activities of colleagues, with the aim of emphasising the importance of increasingly aligning daily life behaviour with the needs of the environmental context in which we live.
In 2023, it focused in particular on raising awareness in the field of sustainable mobility through targeted communications and initiatives, such as the creation of a section dedicated to sustainable transport to go to the office and a discount for the purchase of electric bikes. In addition, as a Group, we have chosen to join Green Food Week, a week for raising awareness about food choices, and M’illumino di Meno, the National Day for Energy Savings and Sustainable Lifestyles, with ad hoc initiatives carried out in conjunction with these occasions for reflection at the national level. Ad hoc communications continued for colleagues on the occasion of the celebration of several World Days (such as World Water Day, World Recycling Day, etc.). They represent opportunities to provide specific thematic content and to give colleagues practical advice to be implemented in daily life. During 2023, the campaign, launched in 2022, aimed at raising awareness among colleagues about energy savings in workplaces, also continued.

Lynfa, the internal Open Learning Community of the Sella Group, was born in February 2023. Lynfa aims to share the skills necessary for change, to respond to people's needs for transformation. Through this reality, the Group wants to offer the Sella Team new ways to learn and improve through trans-training courses aimed at developing technical skills to fill the gap of hard skills useful for carrying out work, transversal skills to acquire the necessary methodologies for organisational transformation, relational skills to implement new methods of people management and to increase the sense of belonging through the sharing of values and corporate identity.

At the beginning of November, Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. inaugurated in Biella – at the space called "La Serra" – the BPScampus, a physical structure that is a training centre dedicated to all the company's human resources. The Campus is the concrete expression of an important reorganisation project that Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. has undertaken in relation to the issue of training, investing concretely in favour of a greater structuring and organisation of related activities, strengthening the training office with young talents and also creating a dedicated Committee that defines its direction and strategy. The first edition of the BPScampus was a success and, in one year, at least four others are expected.

Saturday 7 October 2023, a day called "BiDigital" dedicated to the themes of innovation, digital techonologies and the future, entitled "New forms of intelligence", was held at the Maurizio Sella Lanificio in Biella. 
The proposed contents covered 5 thematic areas: Open Innovation, Marketing, Start-up, Metaverse, and Developing. The event was a success, thanks to the offer of a training programme of 40 hours of meetings held by 50 different speakers and the presence of about a thousand people including students, professionals, start-uppers, entrepreneurs, experts, curious and enthusiasts of innovation, all eager to share experiences and discover the trends that are transforming the world.

During 2023, Sellalab held 80 free in-person and online events involving over 10,000 people and, through the Academy, provided thematic training courses to 70 professionals. At the same time, Sellalab's role in education was also carried out through the Virtual Community, which saw an increase of 37% compared to 2022. This tool plays a role as a real "virtualised" Sellalab territorial hub, connecting founders, start-uppers, businesswomen and entrepreneurs for networking activities and the dissemination of content and opportunities for innovation. 

During 2023, the Sella Treasury & Financial Markets business line played a very active role in education courses aimed at both high school and university students. In fact, the # YoungQuantTalentsGrowUp project continued with the second edition, aimed at brilliant students of quantitative and scientific subjects enrolled in the 4th and 5th years of two scientific high schools in the Biella area, with the aim of proposing a specific orientation and training course on some quantitative applications to finance. In the academic field, different thematic seminars were held in the field of machine learning, Algorithmic Trading Bonds & Futures that involved companies such as the Polytechnic Institute of Turin, the Carlo Alberto College of Turin, the University of Turin and the University of Eastern Piedmont. In addition, in the summer of 2023, two summer internships were launched, which saw the participation of two brilliant students of the 3rd/4th year of university.

For the second year, "Build your Fintech" took place, the initiative organised by the Group in collaboration and at the headquarters of the Fintech District in Milan, which saw as protagonists fourteen students from Bocconi University who, working as a group, completed a business case through which to conceive their start-up in the fintech sector. This event was organised by the Group with the aim of allowing some students a first contact with the fintech world, a sector on the rise, through the testimonies of the group's managers and external fintech players. The pitch day and the presentation of the final works took place in Biella, at the Lanificio Maurizio Sella.

In order to promote financial culture and increase awareness of savings and investment issues, Banca Sella, in collaboration with FEduF – Foundation for Financial Education and Savings – in 2023 involved, through training meetings, more than 1,500 students of high schools from nine different Italian regions: Veneto, Lombardy, Friuli, Piedmont, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Sicily, and Liguria. The training was delivered in different modules and touched on economic, social, sustainability and digital payments issues.

Also in 2023, the Group organised the "Student Athlete Award", an initiative aimed at secondary school students in the province of Biella, now in its nineteenth edition. 57 students were awarded who, in addition to having achieved excellent academic results, have developed the ability to live sport and competition correctly, establishing good relationships with their classmates both in class and in sports activities. Pointing out the schools' most outstanding students were the school managers themselves from the various schools involved. The award ceremony took place at the Lanificio Maurizio Sella, and saw the participation of the Deputy Director General of Banca Sella Holding, the Mayor of Biella Claudio Corradino, and the representatives of the Province, CONI, the Regional School Office, and Panathlon.

In July 2023, the new photovoltaic car park was inaugurated in Biella at the Group's Headquarters in Piazza Gaudenzio Sella. This infrastructure is an important part of the Group's strategy to self-produce energy from renewable sources and reduce its environmental impact. The parking lot occupies an area of 3,800 square metres, has 176 parking spaces, consists of 632 photovoltaic panels installed on 5 projecting roofs, with a total power of 243.32 kWp. These conditions allow the Group to save 129 tons of CO2 per year.

In order to reduce the use of plastic bottles in our offices, water dispensers have been installed for free at the Group's main offices for several years, and all colleagues of the Sella Team have received the "Sella" branded water bottle. Between 2019 and 2023, in the Biella offices, the reduction in bottles purchased through vending machines was 80% in 5 years, going from 56,700 bottles in 2019 to 11,400 bottles in 2023 and was broken down as follows:

• Offices in Via Italia: from 4,850 to 395 (-92%)
• Offices in Piazza Gaudenzio Sella: from 39,100 to 7,837 (-80%)
• Former Lanificio Maurizio Sella office:
  • Business University premises: from 2,050 to 276 (-87%)
  • ex Ced premises: from 10,700 to 2,892 (-73%).

CSR Day 2023 was created in collaboration with Legambiente as part of the "Clean up the world" project, the world's largest environmental volunteering campaign designed to make cities cleaner, more beautiful, and more livable. This day saw the participation of over 460 colleagues from the Sella Group, who met to clean urban areas and parks in nine cities: Milan, Turin, Biella, Rome, Naples, Bari, Palermo, Verona, and Bologna. Together, about 600 kg of waste were collected, including 5 kg of cigarette butts. The result of the work was measured and recorded in the "corporate volunteering identity card", a recognition for the companies involved in the redevelopment of the territories. 
Similarly, in Grindu, in the county of Tulcea in Romania, Centrico Selir's colleagues organised a day of cleaning the banks of the Danube, collecting more than 200 garbage bags.
 

In line with the sustainable transformation path within the payment card chain that began in 2022, Banca Sella and Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. have replaced all payment cards produced in standard PVC with cards made of eco-sustainable materials. Most were made on rPVC support, i.e. PVC generated from recycled plastic. Adopting recycled plastic material means reducing emissions by 36% compared to standard PVC. In addition, the concepts of accessibility and inclusion have been introduced with Banca Sella's debit cards. The cards feature a Touch Card system with a profile which is easily recognisable to the touch, also suitable for visually impaired or blind people who can use these cards with a greater sense of security and independence.

In support of the populations of Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Tuscany affected by the flood that occurred in May 2023, the Group organised a fundraiser that involved colleagues, customers, and shareholders. The funds raised by colleagues were doubled by the Group. In total, 159 thousand euros were donated to the Italian Red Cross. 

The Group has contributed a donation of 25,000 euros to the initiatives of the non-profit organisation La Rete which, within the Caritas circuit in Biella, provides food and accommodation to people in need. This organisation involves more than 70 volunteers who, divided into daily teams, distribute meals every day for a total of about 30,000 lunches a year. Alongside this service, there are several other initiatives, including the presence of two teams of volunteers who, with vans equipped for the daily recovery of unsold large-scale retail products and collective catering, contribute to the reduction of food waste. 

Banca Sella, Sella Personal Credit, and Sella Leasing renewed their support to the Italian Deaf Sports Federation to encourage the participation of athletes in the Winter Deaflympics which will be held in Turkey in February 2024.

The Group continued its multi-year collaboration with Special Olympics through the involvement of colleagues and their family members, as volunteers, on the occasion of the Play the Games 2023 organised in Biella. This year, the Group's volunteers served for three days at the Rivetti pool alongside the boys who participated in the swimming competitions.
Special Olympics is an international non-profit organisation that programs athletic training and competition for people with intellectual disabilities. The games are structured for each skill level and provide an extraordinary opportunity for inclusion and growth. 

Also this year, on the occasion of Christmas, 349 colleagues of the Group have donated their voices to the National Centre for the Narrated Book, which since 1957 has been offering a rich catalogue of audiobooks free of charge to people who are blind, visually impaired or have serious vision problems due to pathology or advanced age, allowing them to access culture freely and free of charge. Together, they recorded 8 new audiobooks, including one in English, for a total of 2,867 pages read ranging from the adventures of Don Quixote to the events of the Iliad, to fairy tales and novels.

On the occasion of Christmas, the Group chose to enhance and support the projects of colleagues engaged in social volunteering by organising an internal contest: this initiative allowed participants to submit applications for the organisations they love, and the three most voted by the colleagues of the Sella Team received a financial contribution made available by the Group.
The three projects that obtained the most approval were: 

• "Physical activity in water with AISM for people with multiple sclerosis"
• "The world of tiles" by ANGSA Biella
• "A nursery/infirmary for our four-legged friends", by the A-mici BAU association

The Group has been organising an internal charity lottery for several years, offering gifts that are donated by customers and that, as required by the Code of Ethics, cannot be held personally by employees and collaborators. In 2023, thanks to the sale of tickets to the entire Team Sella, the Group donated the funds raised, in equal parts, to the "Eureka School" in India and to the Cottolengo Institute of Biella.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Group expressed its participation by supporting the Autonomy Fund of the D.i.Re Association (Women Network against Violence), the national anti-violence network that helps thousands of women in Italy to live a life free from abuse every day offering shelter and care, and Telefono Rosa, the Italian association that has been supporting women and children since 1988, helping them to bring out submerged violence within the home. Volunteers respond to the 24-hour Pink Telephone switchboard, offering women the opportunity to receive free listening, hospitality, security, and protection.

In 2023, the Artistic Directorate of Banca Patrimoni Sella & C., which is headquartered in the historic Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, continued its path of protecting and enhancing the cultural heritage through national and international collaborations.
In the area, it also works merging purely cultural activities and a strong social commitment, both in collaboration with hospitals and by involving schools in educational laboratories: art meets medicine in the rehabilitation paths of patients with Alzheimer's and senile dementia, and supports students of different age groups in their cultural and psychological growth.
In addition, the Artistic Directorate plays an important Art Advisory role for the area.
 

The Group contributed with a donation of 50 thousand euros to the Association "Amici dell’Ospedale fi Biella", for its project of the new hybrid operating room of the hospital of Biella. This project aims to further strengthen the operating block of the city hospital. The operating room concentrates several high-tech components that allow different surgical techniques and the collaboration of several specialists at the same time. 

TFS iCARE – Sella SGR's investment fund born in 2020 with the aim of combining finance and scientific research – supported the Umberto Veronesi Foundation also in 2023, through an annual contribution equal to 0.3% of its total assets. The contribution, amounting to 374,227.93 euros, was directed to two research projects: the first project "Research of genomic prognostic markers for prostate cancer", conducted at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, aims to study the genomic alterations that characterise prostate cancer stem cells to identify groups of patients with different prognoses; the second project is "PALM Research", acronym for Pediatric Acute Leukaemia of Myeloid origin, and aims to create an international network for the study and development of new therapies for paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia. The project involves several support centres, located in Italy and the USA.