Sustainability at IBB

#nachhaltighandeln for Berlin

Sustainability is a top priority at IBB and is firmly anchored in our corporate strategy. Our goal is to make Berlin more sustainable! All of our support activities, for instance, for founders, SMEs, the housing sector, environmental protection, energy saving and renewable energy, are geared to Berlin’s sustainable development.

We can only create lasting economic prosperity through sustainable action, which is why sustainability is such a high priority at IBB. Every day, our employees work hard to ensure that we as a promotional bank become even better in terms of sustainability. We want to use our resources efficiently, #nachhaltighandeln, and through our funding programmes support activities that preserve our natural environment as a basis for life. This creates long term prosperity and a more socially just society.

Dr. Hinrich Holm

Chairman of the Board

IBB’s sustainability guidelines

With its products, IBB is helping the Federal State of Berlin to achieve its climate policy goals for CO2 reduction and to cope with demographic change. In addition, IBB meets high legal standards in its dealings with customers, suppliers and staff by using its resources efficiently.

IBB Unternehmensverwaltung (IBB UV), the owner and sole shareholder of IBB, has developed sustainability guidelines for the entire IBB Group for the first time. These were adopted by the IBB Board of Management and IBB UV on 5 January 2022 and apply to the entire IBB Group.

Sustainability Guidelines of the IBB Group - accessible (PDF)

Our sustainability goals

Support ‘Climate Neutral Berlin’ by 2045
Enable EUR 15 billion in sustainable funding based on the SDGs by 2030
Be the most important contact point in Berlin for ‘sustainable funding opportunities’ by 2030
Climate-neutral bank operations from 2022
Integration of the SDGs into all of IBB’s fields of action
Achieve the goals and measures laid down in the sustainability programme

Our sustainability principles

The sustainability principles established for each of our fields of action form the basis for our sustainable actions. This is to enable us to systematically achieve lasting and self-sustaining sustainable development. All of IBB’s activities designed to promote economic, social and ecological development in the bank itself and in society are structured according to these guiding principles. They serve as a guideline for sustainable action at IBB.

Business ethics and product responsibility

With our support programmes, we foster the economic development of our city as well as urban development with a focus on housing supply. Our overriding goal is to create and secure jobs for Berlin’s growing population.
We are helping to ensure that Berlin’s economic and population growth does not come at the expense of the environment and climate. We will achieve Berlin’s climate protection goals, for instance, by increasing energy efficiency in Berlin’s construction sector.
With our funding, we provide an incentive for implementing sustainable, resource-saving investments in Berlin.
One focus of our business development activities is the sustainable development of Berlin as a centre for business. We achieve this by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the start-up phase, helping them to finance innovations and during the further course of their business.
When it comes to allocating funding, we consider economic, ecological and social criteria as well as client groups and projects which have limited access to funding due to credit rating, risk and return assessments.

Social commitment, communication and compliance

We fulfil our social responsibility by supporting social and cultural projects.
As a business development bank, we support competitions for innovative projects and initiatives for a sustainable Berlin.
We provide the public with transparent and up-to-date information about our business development activities and about aspects of sustainability.
We have developed our own code of conduct that stands for our integrity, impeccable reputation and good governance. We comply with laws and prevent corruption and bribery.

Social responsibility for our employees

We promote the performance orientation of our employees and are committed to social responsibility.
Highly qualified and motivated employees are at the core of our ‘Working for Berlin’ vision.
We create transparency on essential aspects of our remuneration policy.
We help our employees to achieve a good work-life balance.
We promote equal opportunities and diversity among staff.
Occupational health and safety and the health of our employees are very important to us.

Corporate environmental protection and resource efficiency

We treat natural resources carefully and responsibly. Sustainable action is firmly embedded in the processes at all levels of our banking operations.
We persistently work to improve our contribution to climate protection.
We use internal and external input and are in close dialogue with our stakeholders.
Sustainability is an important factor when procuring services or products even beyond the requirements of the Berlin Tendering and Award Act.

Our contribution to the SDGs

IBB is committed to the 17 global goals for sustainable development adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, the so called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and applies these goals in a transparent and measurable manner to its fields of activity. The SDGs are to be achieved by 2030 and aim at economically, ecologically and socially sustainable development. By referencing the SDGs, we show even clearer how financing is making a sustainable contribution to the further development of our environment. Our contribution to the SDGs is presented in our Sustainability Report.

The 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Carbon-neutral bank operations

Since January 2022, IBB has been a ‘carbon-neutral company’ certified by ClimatePartner, underpinning the commitment of the business development bank to achieving greater environmental and climate protection and thus supporting the Federal State of Berlin in its transformation towards carbon neutrality by 2045. As a carbon-neutral company, we recorded our greenhouse gas emissions based on the figures from the 2020 financial year and offset 2,547,267 kg of carbon emissions by purchasing certificates. Working with ClimatePartner, IBB has invested in two sustainable climate protection projects. With the ‘carbon neutral’ label, the bank is clearly committed to climate protection and the sustainability strategy while at the same time contributing to the Paris Climate Agreement and the achievement of the Global Sustainability Goals (SDGs). In this way, IBB is creating the right incentives to make Berlin more sustainable and liveable.

For more information on our cooperation with ClimatePartner, please go to: climatepartner.com/16576-2112-1001

Sustainability brochure of the IBB Group

Sustainability has a high priority in the IBB Group. Therefore, we actively promote the sustainable development of Berlin. How do we contribute? What are we planning? We show our way to the "Impact Bank Berlin" in our sustainability brochure.