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Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2017
GRI content index / Assurance statement Engaged citizen Fair partner Responsible banker Sustainability management Overview Foreword
concept. Alongside planning and constructing optimally energy-efficient buildings, sustainability is actively
addressed through intelligent and efficient supply and control of energy. There is an increasing number of
areas in Vienna where sufficient electricity cannot be supplied to residential complexes to meet modern
demands, such as electro-mobility. It is therefore necessary to consider and develop alternative concepts that
ensure an environmentally and economically optimal supply while conserving and making efficient use of
resources. In one residential project, Kahlenbergerstraße 17, for example, the aim is to make optimal use of
the small amount of available electricity. All power consumers should be evaluated with regard to energy
efficiency, such as through the exclusive use of LED lighting. To enable a reserve of power for electro-mobility
and ensure the maximum number of car charging stations, the unused electricity of the residential complex as a
whole should be intelligently made available for charging without impairing safety-relevant systems such as
elevators or pumps.
• Alternative mobility:
Raiffeisen-Leasing once again demonstrated and expanded its market leadership in the financing of
alternatively powered vehicles in 2017. The portfolio currently includes financing of around € 56.3 million for
fully electric vehicles. Within the framework of a public tender, it won the contract for “Fleet Management for
Alternatively Powered Vehicles” from the Bundesbeschaffung GmbH (BBG), Austria’s public sector procurement
service provider. The program partnership with “klimaaktiv”, the climate protection initiative of the Federal Ministry
of Sustainability and Tourism, was also completed recently. The last model region, “E-LOG Klagenfurt”, was
successfully completed at the end of 2017. No other model regions are required within the scope of the
nationwide e-mobility program that was launched on January 1, 2017. The funds are disbursed across the
country to promote alternatively powered vehicles.
• Protection of nature:
With an innovative climate campaign, Raiffeisen
Bausparkasse Gesellschaft m.b.H. (RBSK) supported
a sustainable climate protection project in Zimbabwe.
During the campaign period from January 30 to
March 31, 2017, RBSK purchased one-ton CO2
certificates, each protecting 30 trees for a period
of three years, for every building society financing
project concluded with land register collateralization.
A total of 41,250 trees in the south African country
of Zimbabwe were saved in this way. RBSK
subsequently rounded this to a total of 50,000. This
compensates for 1,500 tons of CO2 emissions. This
campaign was carried out in cooperation with
Climate Austria due to its many years of experience.
It wasn’t just the local flora and fauna that benefited
Andrä Rupprechter, former Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, the Environment and
Water Resources, at the presentation of the climate protection certificate to Manfred Url,
CEO of Raiffeisen Bausparkasse, © RBSK
from the investments in climate protection; jobs for the local population were also secured in this way.
• Emission reductions:
For the construction of a highly efficient combined cycle power plant dedicated to a chemical production plant,
RBI AG signed the contracts for participation in investment financing in the amount of € 40 million as part of the
KfW energy efficiency program in 2017. The combined production of steam and electricity makes the plant
especially efficient. The fuels used are primarily waste materials from production, which helps ensure that the
resources are used to their full extent. The electricity generated by the combined cycle power plant saves up to
400,000 tons of CO2 compared with the average electricity mix in Germany consisting of coal, natural gas,
nuclear energy and renewables. This corresponds to the annual CO2 emissions of up to 200,000 mid-size
cars in Germany.
The investment financing in the amount of € 20 million provided for new transportation buses equipped with
especially clean engines (EURO 6 emissions standard) and special soot particle filters also contributes to
emission reduction. The exhaust gas cleaning is based on SCR technology and noise levels can also be
reduced in this way. A second bus financing project, also in the amount of € 20 million, was structured in 2017 and
is going to be paid out in 2018. A rail transport company was also provided with financing to shift the transport