by Pier Paolo Luciano

An important milestone for the credit cooperative with the largest membership. President Cornaglia: "We have become a model of good practices thanks to principles we have always believed in."

Inclusion is also a color. For this reason, Banca d’Alba chose yellow for the annual meeting, evoking feelings of warmth, happiness, and optimism, symbols of welcome and openness to others. After all, the leaders of the cooperative bank have always considered the annual meeting with members to approve the budget as the highlight of inclusion. They want each member to feel valued and heard, as in a community open to dialogue and sharing. And the response was record-breaking: nearly 20,000 people (19,940 to be exact out of a total of 63,500) gathered in Alba to examine the accounts of the cooperative bank with the largest number of members in Italy. The perfect stage to celebrate another achievement: Banca d’Alba is the first financial institution in Italy to simultaneously obtain certification for gender equality and attestations on diversity and inclusion and corporate social responsibility. Omodei Salé, head of Innovation at Csqa, the body chosen by the Langhe-based company for the voluntary certification process, says: “Social responsibility, diversity and inclusion, and gender equality are fundamental tools for a company committed to employees, stakeholders, and institutions.”

A good practice that has already yielded the first results: the Italian Banking Association (Abi) has “summoned” Banca d’Alba to explain to other banks the sustainable development path that concluded with certification on gender equality and attestations on diversity and inclusion and social responsibility. “Some local companies have called us to find out how it works and how certification is achieved. And other cooperative banks as well. We have become a virtuous model,” explains President Tino Cornaglia, who pushed the most for the bank to be recognized as a reference point in terms of ethics and sustainability. “It all started during the meeting a year ago with the commitment to offset the emissions generated by the event in line with the ‘carbon neutral’ rule.”

A path that proved perhaps more complicated than imagined but also stimulating and could count from the beginning on the involvement of everyone: the head and body of Banca d’Alba, which today has 530 employees, the majority of whom are women, and 74 branches covering from Upper Piedmont to Liguria. “A constant opportunity for comparison that allowed us to look at our internal organization with a different eye, understanding our positioning in terms of inclusion, gender equality, social commitment, and environmental protection: values we have always cared about,” summarizes Enzo Cazzullo, General Manager of Banca d’Alba.

Sustainability as a banner and concrete commitment to the territory in the name of impact economy. For example, returning a piece of its history to Alba. The cooperative bank decided to transform the former RotoAlba plant, where the Paolini family once printed “Famiglia Cristiana,” into an auditorium. “A structure in the center of Alba closed for about ten years but still a symbol for many: at its peak, up to six hundred people worked there – explains Cornaglia. In two or three years, it will become a reference point for the city. We will organize our meetings there, but it can also be used for events like the Collisioni Festival or exhibitions. In short, a structure for Alba. With a thousand trees planted outside to reduce the environmental impact of the works. We wanted this project as an important legacy to the entire community, highlighting the centrality of this territory for us. An initiative aimed at supporting the local economic fabric, offering new opportunities to all event organizers, allowing Alba to finally propose itself with a suitable venue for conferences and symposia.” The works will be financed with the bank’s profits, which in 2023 reached 782 million. Seventy percent is destined to strengthen the equity, while part of the remainder is allocated as charity to the Foundation managing the social and cultural activities branded Banca d’Alba. For example, in healthcare, with a network of six medical centers (the latest in Vische in the Canavese area). More than six thousand members benefited in 2023 from nearly 70 thousand free visits and therapies. “Because we want to be a social support for our territory,” concludes Cornaglia, already thinking about the next challenge: improving certification standards: “Let’s say we have received many sevens and eights, but we can aim for an even better report card on our principles.” A first move has already been made: a tour in schools. To educate on good practices from an early age.