Center-invest Bank took part in the ESG Agenda in Russia: Development and Trends Business Discussion dedicated to priority areas and successful practises of sustainable development. The event was organised by the UN Global Compact Network Russia and O1 Properties.

Mr. Alexander Dolganov, Ph.D. in Economics, Deputy Chairman of Center-invest Bank’s Management Board, shared his experience and the bank’s role in developing the ESG agenda in Russia. Center-invest Bank is one of the leaders in the development and promotion of the ESG business model. It is the first bank in Russia to incorporate the verification of clients and projects for compliance with environmental impact requirements, and to conduct continuous monitoring of environmental and climate risks.

The bank has extensive experience and expertise in green financing, having been developing this area since 2005. During this time, more than 23 thousand energy efficiency projects worth 23.3 billion roubles have been financed.

The bank calculates the reduction in CO2 emissions for financed loans: to date, the bank has estimated the carbon footprint of over 3,000 mortgages issued and over 1,600 agricultural loans.

The bank offers special "green" mortgages for individuals and legal entities, a "green" deposit for investments in projects that contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and national projects, has developed a methodology and conducted an ESG rating of more than 5 thousand corporate clients.

"Center-invest Bank not only integrates ESG instruments into its own work processes, but also actively involves clients in the area of responsible business management. And our leading positions in SME lending (5th place in Russia in terms of volume of issued loans) allow us to significantly influence the strengthening and spread of the sustainable development economy in Russia," emphasised Alexander Dolganov.

Center-invest Bank is an official signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and annually publishes a report on the achievement of its sustainable development goals.

Center-invest Bank was rated ESG-AA, level ESG-2 by ACRA. This rating confirms a successful implementation of sustainable development, environmental, social responsibility and governance strategy.