Banca Popolare di Fondi: Starting Strong on the Path to Sustainability

Over the years, the cooperative has grown from an initial 86 members to more than 3,300 in 2022. Today it has 20 branches, distributed among the provinces of Rome, Latina and Frosinone.

In addition, it operates 22 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), 8 of which are categorized as “evolved,” thus offering an advanced range of financial services to its members and customers.

The mission of Banca Popolare di Fondi is to promote sustainable economic development in the area in which it operates by collecting savings and providing financial services, with a special focus on supporting Small and Medium Enterprises and cooperatives.

Context

The extension of the regulatory requirement to publish a Sustainability Report to many more companies—including those with fewer than 250 employees—prompted Banca Popolare di Fondi to begin a digital transition journey in partnership with PRAXI. The primary goal was to proactively prepare the organization for regulatory compliance, ensuring readiness and alignment ahead of time. This adaptation is essential to remain competitive in the market and to avoid being excluded from supply chain dynamics.

The Training Lab project was also made possible thanks to the opportunity to access the Fondo Nuove Competenze (New Skills Fund) promoted by ANPAL. The fund supports training initiatives aimed at enhancing employee skills, with a focus on processes related to Digital Transition and Green Transition.

The Project

The Training Lab pathway was built around the specific needs of Banca Popolare di Fondi to support and accompany the organization in the implementation of its Ecological Transition. It consisted of three initiatives:

1. “Let’s Start with Purpose”: aimed at Directors, aimed at sharing a clear and well-defined purpose focused on Sustainability and Ecological Transition, inclusive of virtuous behaviors to inspire and guide employees, build customer loyalty and improve performance.
2. “Let’s Create Integrated Value”: addressed to Key People, to identify value-generating organizational behaviors and benefits under Sustainability and Ecological Transition, internal and external, and build pathways for integrating ESG policies into the Bank’s decision-making processes, aimed at the transition.
3. “Let’s share and make it viral”: intended for the future community of internal ESG Ambassadors, in charge of putting into practice organizational behaviors in the spirit of Sustainability and Ecological Transition.

Impact

For the Bank, this project was a real turning point, a founding project, enabling us to embark on the path of Sustainability by involving so many people, and thus innervating our organization of ESG issues. The project, carried out in Training Lab mode, provided 264 hours of training over 5 months for a total of 74 learners.

The results obtained from the collaboration were:

• the development of an ESG culture in the Company and, more importantly, among the Bank’s key figures;
• The production of an initial draft of Banca Popolare di Fondi’s Sustainability Report 2023 (the final version of the Sustainability Report 2023 will be prepared by March 2024), with the selection of Materiality issues on which
  will take action;
• the drafting of the “Sustainability Manifesto” by the ESG Ambassadors, a functional document to decline in terms of the organizational behavior of the Bank’s employees all the ESG choices made by the Bank
  itself.

The project also enabled Banca Popolare di Fondi to hold an initial event open to the public, where ESG issues were explained and the importance of adopting procedures toward a full ecological transition was emphasized. Thanks to initiatives like this, today the Bank is positioned as a genuine driver of change in the area.

Challenges

The need to deliver many hours of training in a short period of time required careful planning and coordination that was present and ongoing.
The people involved were easily engaged, as each of them felt free to be able to contribute value to an important goal for the Bank.

Participants also had the opportunity to learn how to converse with customers in a more knowledgeable and prepared manner on issues of Sustainability and Ecological Transition.

Thanks to the success of the Training Lab project, Banca Popolare di Fondi intends to implement the initiative by also offering its customers the opportunity to be accompanied by Praxi on their own paths toward ecological transition.

The collaboration with Banca Popolare di Fondi will proceed with the maintenance activities of the Sustainability Report and with the drafting of the procedures necessary to translate what is stated in the Manifesto into concrete behaviors.

Financing Opportunities

The Training Lab model adopted by Banca Popolare di Fondi not only ensured strong employee engagement, but also proved fully eligible for funding through PNRR programs and Interprofessional Funds dedicated to supporting companies in their Ecological Transition.

At PRAXI, we guide each client through the entire process—from identifying the right funding opportunities and submitting proposals, to implementing project activities and handling monitoring and reporting. Our support is end-to-end, ensuring that every stage of the journey is managed with precision and impact.