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ABN AMRO finances more than 10% of the total number of square metres of the built-up environment in the Netherlands. This is reflected in its balance sheet by a total of EUR 185 billion in outstanding loans for residential and commercial property, which is two-thirds of the bank’s loan portfolio.
ABN AMRO is helping homeowners see in an instant how to make their homes more sustainable. A free online tool, the Energy Saving Check, offers a quick overview of how sustainable the user’s home is and what 'green' modifications will yield: in terms of payback time, comfort and environmental contribution. For example, in less than a minute homeowners can calculate how much they can save by adding extra insulation, fitting a new central heating boiler or installing solar panels. The Energy Saving Check (Energie Bespaarcheck) has been developed by De Energiebespaarders, ABN AMRO's partner for residential sustainability.
The Netherlands boasts increasing numbers of social entrepreneurs, running their businesses not simply to make money but also to serve a social purpose. The tremendous potential for growth in this young market remains sadly underutilised. Paving the way for long-term growth will require funding of around 4.5 billion euros. Impact investors generally have a strong preference for companies in the growth phase, however, and most social enterprises have not yet reached that stage. A stronger market structure is also needed, including traditional companies, government authorities and consumers. These conclusions are presented in ABN AMRO’s report ‘De romantiek voorbij: de noodzaak van marktontwikkeling voor sociale ondernemingen ’, which was published earlier today.
ABN AMRO has entered into a relationship with Root Capital, a US-based agricultural impact investor, to provide impact finance to small agricultural organisations. Last month the first loan participations were closed, serving several coffee cooperatives in Latin America and reaching 4,000 coffee farmers.
If the Netherlands is to succeed in its ambition to have a fully circular economy by the year 2050, thousands of large and small companies will have to change their business models. ABN AMRO draws this conclusion in its report “Alles van waarde: circulariteit door de sectoren heen”, which was released today . The bank provides support to companies that are going circular with new funding models. These funding models contribute to ABN AMRO's aspiration for 2020 to have financed at least a hundred deals with a total of one billion euros spent on circular company assets. The subsequent emission savings will add up to one million tonnes of CO2.
ABN AMRO signed an agreement with MADASTER on Wednesday, 31 May during the PROVADA real estate exhibition in Amsterdam. The MADASTER materials passport is set to become the new standard in the real estate sector. Generating a digital materials passport for every building opens up the possibility of creating a circular economy within the construction industry. ABN AMRO is contributing both financially and substantively to the development of this independent method of creating transparency in the use of materials and raw materials in construction projects. The passport can be initiated by clients and used by architects and contractors in new-build and renovation projects. This makes MADASTER an independent public platform for private individuals, businesses and public authorities.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and ABN AMRO have signed a new loan agreement, the fourth collaboration under the joint “SME funding programme. The EIB will lend EUR 250 million to ABN AMRO, so that it can be on-lent to SMEs at reduced interest rates.
The Krachtstation Kanaleneiland project in Utrecht has won the fourth edition of the ABN AMRO Social Involvement Award. The prize was awarded yesterday during the PROVADA real estate exhibition at Amsterdam RAI, for the transformation of a former Regional Training Centre (ROC) to a multifunctional complex. This social real estate project, achieved without subsidy, offers local businesses and residents an accessible means of renting space or starting a business.
During the leading maritime NOR-shipping event in Oslo on May 30th 2017 ABN AMRO, ING and NIBC will present the Responsible Ship Recycling Standards (RSRS) for ship financing and call upon other financial institutions to unite in endorsing these. In doing so the banks hope to raise awareness of the importance of improving the end-of-life stage of ships.
The public sector can achieve major gains by accelerating the pace at which it improves the sustainability of its real estate. The Sustainable Investment Tool is an online application that allows owners of public buildings to see how they can save energy, reduce their carbon footprints and recoup their investments. Not only does the tool provide an immediate overview of measures that will save energy, those measures can be implemented and financed directly through the services of ABN AMRO Public Sector Clients.
ABN AMRO is the first financial institution in the world to publish a human rights report based on the reporting framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In the report, the bank sets forth its human rights policy and how it seeks to meet its policy commitments. The publication of the report is an important milestone in the bank’s efforts to revisit its operations from a human rights perspective.
ABN AMRO has launched a pilot to explore how the blockchain application Torch can help parties involved in real estate transactions record and exchange information.
Many Dutch citizens are sympathetic towards social enterprises. A large majority (66 percent) would in principle like to buy products or services from such enterprises. In practice, however, almost no one does so, according to research by ABN AMRO among more than 1,000 Dutch respondents. More than 10 percent of them said they occasionally bought a product or service from a social enterprise, but almost 40 percent never did so. Half the respondents reported that they had no idea whether or not they ever did this.
Impact investment is likely to show a huge increase in popularity in the near future. A philanthropy survey performed jointly by ABN AMRO MeesPierson and Maastricht University shows that almost 4 out of 10 wealthy individuals with investable assets of at least 500,000 euros are interested in this relatively new form of investment. According to current numbers, impact investing is as yet barely on the radar; hardly 4 per cent of respondents have made impact investments before.
ABN AMRO and ABN AMRO MeesPierson are receiving more and more requests for sustainable investment opportunities from their clients. To make sustainable investing easier, ABN AMRO MeesPierson is set to launch Sustainable Investment Advice on 15 November.
