Fortune Magazine names Santander in its 2018 Change the World list

Fortune Magazine has today included Santander in its 2018 Change the World list – recognizing the bank among companies who “do well by doing good” by making a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.

In judging the awards, Fortune’s jury evaluates and ranks the companies using four factors:

• Measurable social impact - the reach, nature, and durability of the company’s impact;
• Business results - the benefit the socially impactful work brings to the company;
• Degree of innovation - how innovative the company’s effort is relative to that of others in its industry; and,
• Corporate Integration: how integral the initiative is to a company’s overall strategy, and how well that strategy is communicated.

Santander, which was the only bank in the euro zone to be included in the list, was ranked number 56 and was recognized by the magazine because of the contribution it makes to education.

Santander invests more in support for educations than any other private company in the world (Varkey Report/UNESCO/Fortune 500) and has supported higher education and entrepreneurship for 20 years.

In 2017 the bank supported 642,283 people through financial education programmes, 414,486 young people through children’s education programmes, and 611,060 people through programmes designed to tackle social exclusion and initiatives focused on health and investigating disease and rehabilitation.

Furthermore, through Santander Universities the bank provides over 39,000 scholarships and grants in 2017, with 1,295 agreements with universities and academic institutions in 21 countries. In 2017 Santander launched Santander X, a programme that offers support for university entrepreneurship.

In total the bank invested €183 million in community initiatives during 2017, including €129 million in Santander Universities and €54 mill in other community programmes and projects.