On 31 January 2024, Center-invest Bank participated in the webinar held by RAEX-Sustainability with a presentation titled «Practical Implementation of ESG Banking in Russia».

Sergey Smirnov, Doctor of Economics, Deputy Chairman of Center-Invest Bank’s Management Board for Reporting, Analysis and Finance drew conclusions for the year 2023 in the area of ESG transformations, shared the methodology of carbon footprint assessment, as well as the ESG innovations implementation methods using the proven experience of Center-invest Bank.

In 2023 Center-invest Bank implemented the methodology of carbon footprint assessment for mortgage lending, and started calculating carbon footprint of all loans extended to agribusiness. As of 1 January 2024, the bank assessed emissions for 2,240 mortgage loans for the amount of 6.9 billion rubles and 860 loans extended to agribusiness for the amount of 7.9 billion rubles.

«Since 2005 we extend loans to energy-efficient projects, and over this period the total amount of loans issued by us exceeded 24 billion rubles. For all such loans we calculate reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, as of the present moment the total reduction of annual emissions constituted 264 tons of СО2. For example, it is equal to emissions of 154,000 passenger cars, 10.5 million planted trees, or transportation of 3 million people on the Rostov-Moscow route,» Sergey Smirnov commented.

In September 2023 Center-invest Bank joined the Climate Change Commitment international initiative of GABV, and is the only Russian bank in the Alliance.

Starting from 2019, each financial transaction within the bank is assessed from the perspective of achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the bank annually publishes the relevant data in SDG standards.

Center-invest Bank publishes the Green Vector digital banking ESG magazine, which ensures high-quality integration of the bank’s green products and promotes the topic of conscious and environmentally friendly consumption. In 2023, based on its experience, the Bank published a book titled A Regional Bank in the Sovereign Economy analysing the evolution of sustainable development concept and its efficient use in Russia.