Sustainability bonds

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.

Education is a core pillar of RBI’s social bond activities, reflecting its critical role in driving economic development, employability, and social mobility. Through targeted financing, RBI supports high-quality educational infrastructure, access to affordable education, vocational training, and digital learning solutions—contributing to the strengthening of established education systems and addressing evolving needs in its operating environment.

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, Pollution Prevention and Control, Eco-Efficient Circular Economy Adapted Products, Production Technologies and Processes.
• 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.

Since 2019, RBI has been systematically embedding sustainability into its core business activities. In January 2019, RBI introduced an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) incentive scheme to support the long-term development of its green and social loan portfolios and to reinforce its green and social bond issuance activities.

Building on this foundation, RBI established a dedicated Sustainable Finance Team in 2020, further strengthening its strategic focus on sustainable clients and business opportunities. This step marked an important milestone in enhancing the bank’s sustainability strategy and fostering continuous awareness of sustainable development across its organisation and stakeholder base.