Together we make the sustainable transition possible

NWB Bank enables the transition to a sustainable economy, not only in the Netherlands, but also on a European level. As a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), with our CEO Lidwin van Velden as president, we collaborate with other European promotional banks in order to contribute to enhancing sustainability within Europe.

The EAPB’s ESG Risk Management Expert Working Group was started last year, with the bank’s Sustainability Risk Manager Maaike van Osch as co-chair, and has been working on a position paper on the important role that European public banks play in the transition to a sustainable, green and social economy.

With the use of examples, from NWB Bank to our French and Scandinavian colleague promotional banks, the paper illustrates how we make sustainable impact through our financing and investments. It also delves into some of the challenges we face, in the areas of the EU Green Taxonomy, the availability of data and disclosure requirements, and illustrates the bank’s integral and holistic vision on sustainability risk- and impact management. In the coming period, the position paper will support us in our dialogue with the European parliament and various other European supervisors, policymakers and regulators in order to promote a collaborative effort for Europe’s sustainable transition.

Maaike van Osch: “The EAPB, and specifically our expert working group, is incredibly valuable in ensuring the alignment between Europe’s promotional banks in the area of sustainability. We have such an important role to play in the areas of impact, adaptation and transition finance, and I am very proud of this paper which illustrates exactly that. Change is here, the sustainable transition here, and we are here to make it happen.”

Download the paper.