In 2015 the country members of United Nations agreed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
At UCI we are well aware that companies have an important role to play in achieving these goals, and even over the last few months of lockdown, we have been very active on a number of fronts, some of which we would like to share with you here today.
UCI Community Initiatives
The recent difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been suffered by all of us to some extent, but at UCI we are aware that some people´s economic and social situation have been stretched to breaking point.
For this reason, we have tried to do our bit, both for the general society and for our clients with the following actions:
- UCI collaborators and the company donated 7,600 kilos of food to a national food bank that informed us that they were in dire need of food due to a reduction in donations and increase in recipients, both caused by the crisis.
- UCI collaborators and the company also had a “whip around” and managed to raise 26,000€ for the Spanish Red Cross, which was used to part finance a shelter for homeless people at the start of the crisis.
- When masks and sanitary material were in severe short supply at the beginning of the Pandemic, and we were all comfortably working from home, UCI donated their stock of masks to a local hospital, and by the time we are back in the office working, they will have restocked on all of these materials in order to keep all of the collaborators and clients safe.
- UCI swiftly applied the mortgage moratorium passed by the government to help people being made vulnerable by the COVID-19 crisis, but we quickly realized that the we had many clients suffering the economic consequences of the crisis who were not covered by this solution. Therefore, UCI created solutions to help all clients get through this difficult time, tailor made to suit their needs, with one less worry on their minds.
UCI Employee Competition: Sustainable Development Goals at home
UCI has recently launched a competition encouraging us all to participate from home with actions that work towards achieving these goals by sending a photograph of ourselves with our family or lockdown housemates involved in activities that promote these objectives. These actions could be as simple as organizing unused or unwanted clothes, books and toys to donate to others who need them, showing how we are cutting back on energy consumption at home to avoid wasting energy and water, or giving tips on how to recycle properly.
The best photos sent in will even win a prize (we hope to share the best ideas with you here in a future edition) which will be a kit comprised of Fairtrade sustainable products.
UCIs commitment to “Green”
As you probably know, at UCI we are very committed to contributing towards helping to make homes more sustainable through our Green Mortgages and Loans.
For this reason, the COVID-19 crisis did not halt our initiative to Green RMBS securitizations, and we managed to duplicate the “universe” of European Green Securitization in the midst of the pandemic, privately placing out GREEN BELEM RMBS (backed by Portuguese mortgage loans) in April
In the words of Roberto Colomer, CEO of UCI :“ Our collaboration with the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the EMFs EEMI project will allow us to continue developing a totally strategic axis of UCI´s, which is to contribute to promoting energy efficiency and more sustainable homes in both Spain and Portugal, through our financing”. “The renovation of homes and buildings in Europe ( which has an old and energy inefficient housing stock) is essential if we are to fulfil the objectives of the Horizon 2030 plan for sustainable development in the EU, a goal to which UCI is fully committed as the pilot financial establishment in the EEMI project.
For further information on our Green Mortgages and Loans for purchase and/or refurbishments, contact you UCI Consultant!
Visit the UN website below to learn more about the sustainable development goals:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
