News from 2022-05-03 / Sustainability, Group

KfW Sustainability Report 2021: urban and rural sustainability

Animated illustration on the topic of the year, which is urban and rural sustainability
  • Sustainable bank management: published in 2021, KfW’s sector guidelines lay the next building block for a portfolio that is compatible with the Paris Agreement
  • Environmental quota increased: the target of 38% for new commitments in the area of climate change and the environment was exceeded by a significant margin in 2021, reaching 53%
  • Impacts of climate change: KfW provides uncomplicated support to those affected by the 2021 flood disaster in Germany, including through the IKK Special Programme “Eliminating Flood Damage 2021”

KfW released its new Sustainability Report centred around “urban and rural sustainability”. KfW Group’s 2021 Sustainability Report describes the progress we have made towards the sustainable transformation of urban and rural areas. “This decade will determine the conditions under which our children and grandchildren will live in the future. The way we deal with climate change, digitalisation and the innovative capacity of our country will determine whether future generations are able to reconcile prosperity and sustainable economic activity,” explains Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW Group.

The report is split into three sections: we start with dialogue on sustainability in urban and rural areas, open up discourse on the further development of our sustainability management, and provide data on sustainability in accordance with the GRI, HGB and TCFD.

  • In dialogue, we shed light on the challenges posed by sustainable development of urban districts and the key role of digital infrastructure in rural areas. We also discuss the consequences of the flood disaster on the Ahr river in Germany.
  • In discourse, we reveal how KfW advanced its sustainability strategy in 2021, how new sector guidelines ensure that our financing activities are compatible with the Paris Agreement and which structures KfW Capital is creating to achieve greater sustainability. You can also hear what Theresa Bardubitzki, Sustainability Manager at KfW Capital, has to say on the subject in the latest episode of our “Ausgesprochen nachhaltig” (“Distinctly sustainable”) podcast.
  • The data section documents KfW Group’s performance and results in sustainable development in 2021. The report meets the GRI standards and includes KfW Group’s non-financial reporting in accordance with the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch – HGB), climate-related reporting in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and reporting on human rights due diligence at KfW

You can find the full report at https://www.kfw.de/microsites/Microsite/nachhaltigkeitsbericht.kfw.de/en/.

Contact

KfW Group

Sustainability

nachhaltigkeit@kfw.de

Group Officer for Sustainability:
Dr. Karl Ludwig Brockmann.