Green bonds

RBI intends to be a regular green bond issuer in the international capital market as well as in the Austrian and Eastern European retail markets. In doing so, we aim to offer alternative investments to investors focusing on climate-resilient investment opportunities.

With our green bonds we mainly focus on financing green buildings. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU¹. Improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings has the potential to lead to substantial energy savings and a reduction of greenhouse emissions. By issuing a green bond focusing on energy efficient buildings in Austria and the CEE region, we have contributed to carbon reduction in alignment with the UN Climate Goals – limiting global warming to below 2°C by 2050.

To further strengthen the link between RBI sustainability and financing strategies and to expand the eligible assets to include social loans, RBI has created a new Sustainability Bond Framework, which has replaced the RBI Green Bond Framework of 2018 on 22nd of February 2023.

RBI Sustainability Bond Framework is designed as an umbrella framework that will allow the Bank to issue Green Bonds, Social Bonds, or Sustainability Bonds, as the case may be.

RBI's comprehensive Sustainability Bond framework allows for a wide range of projects, including:

• Green projects within the eligible Green Categories: Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Clean Transportation, Agriculture and Forestry, Pollution Prevention and Control, Eco-Efficient Circular Economy Adapted Products, Production Technologies and Processes, Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management.
• Social projects within the eligible Social categories: Education and Vocational Training, Access to Essential Services, Affordable Housing, Employment Generation and Protection: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Financing.

To confirm the transparency and robustness of RBI’s Sustainability Bond Framework, it is verified and approved by an external second opinion provider, Sustainalytics.

In January 2019, RBI introduced an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) incentive scheme to support the long-term development of RBI green and social loan portfolios and to back RBI green and social bond issuance activities.

Furthermore, in 2020 RBI built a Sustainable Finance Team within its organization focusing on the development of sustainable customers and businesses within the corporate board area. With this approach RBI aims to strengthen its sustainability strategy and raise an overall awareness of sustainable development among its stakeholders.