Press Release from 2016-04-26 / Group, Investor Relations

First Impact Report on "Green Bonds – Made by KfW"

Evaluated environmental and social impact exceeds expectations
KfW offers utmost in transparency on its green bonds: Impact Report fulfils all recommendations of the “Harmonized Framework for Impact Reporting”

Today KfW publishes its first report on the environmental and social impact (Impact Report) of "Green Bonds – Made by KfW". With its green bond issuance programme launched in 2014, KfW supports the growing market segment for green bonds, and thereby gives impetus to the stronger involvement of capital markets in the financing of climate protection activities.

"Climate and environmental protection requires capital. Green bonds are a suitable instrument for anchoring sustainability in the international capital markets and promoting the allocation of capital for climate protection. Transparency and credibility play a particularly important role in this context. We offer investors the utmost in transparency with our first Impact Report because it comprehensively documents the evaluated environmental and social impact of our green bonds issued in 2014", explains Dr Frank Czichowski, Treasurer of KfW Group.

The Impact Report provides detailed information about the green bond issuance year 2014, focusing on the evaluated environmental and social impact. Its two green bonds enabled KfW to raise funds in the amount of EUR 2.7 billion to finance projects under its loan programme "Renewable Energies – Standard".

The independent Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has assessed the “Renewable Energies – Standard” programme and recently published the results for the promotional year 2014. In that period, KfW granted EUR 3.8 billion under its “Renewable Energies – Standard” programme and co-financed projects summing up to EUR 5.9 billion. The supported plants have a total electrical power of 3,669 MW and the cumulated annual electricity production amounts to 7 TWh.

The ZSW evaluation reveals the specific environmental and social impact of KfW’s green bonds issued in 2014.

With an investment of EUR 1 million:

1,271 tons of CO2 equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions are saved per year,
the costs for energy imports to Germany and for fossil fuels are reduced by EUR 67,155 per year, and EUR 129,606 is saved in external costs every year – for example, by avoiding environmental and health damage,
the construction and operation of the supported plants create or secure 25 jobs.

The evaluated impact relates to the underlying 20-year lifetime of the plants.

When KfW launched its green bond programme in 2014, the estimated social and environmental impact was based on ZSW data for the previous 5 years. For example, greenhouse gas emissions were expected to be lowered by 800 tons of CO2 equivalent per year; this figure has now been exceeded by roughly fifty percent. The number of created or secured jobs is almost twice as high as previously estimated.

The Impact Report was compiled in accordance with the recommendations of the "Harmonized Framework for Impact Reporting", which was worked out by leading international issuers, including KfW, to further the standardization of the green bond market, and was published in December 2015. Amongst other things, it is recommended to report at least once a year on the use of bond proceeds as well as on the expected environmental and social impact. KfW reports quarterly on the use of proceeds until full allocation and publishes the evaluation of the environmental and social impact for each issuance year as soon as it is available.