With its pledge to the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), DZ BANK has made a commitment to greater sustainability and transparency. The voluntary initiative for responsible banking was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

The PRBs are based on six principles and offer all signatories a uniform framework to integrate sustainability into their most important business areas. The principles also help member banks to systematically align their business strategy with social goals, such as the Paris Agreement and the international Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

“Climate change and its impact on the economy and society is currently one of the greatest global challenges”, says Uwe Fröhlich, Co-Chief Executive Officer of DZ BANK. "As a company of the cooperative banking sector, we are committed to the real economy and see ourselves as a long-term partner for our clients. We will continue our many years of extensive activities in the field of sustainability."

DZ BANK has been successfully promoting sustainability in its core business areas for many years:
In 2019, DZ BANK was the lead manager for 16 green, social and sustainability bond issues with a volume of more than EUR 10 billion, making it one of the top three syndicate banks in the sustainable bond market in Germany.

    Together with the local cooperative banks, DZ BANK AG is the largest intermediary for development loans in Germany. As at 31.12.2019, the total development loans volume amounted to almost EUR 57 billion.
    As at December 31, 2019, DZ BANK's commitment to financing renewable energies amounted to a loan volume of around EUR 5.4 billion, which will be used to expand infrastructure or set up new, more efficient facilities.

In addition to international initiatives such as the Principles for Responsible Banking or the Climate Bonds Initiative, DZ BANK is involved in national projects - such as the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany and the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council of the German Federal Government -to promote a more sustainable financial sector.

DZ BANK has also published its own position paper on climate change, in which it outlines how it intends to improve its own environmental footprint, expand its low-carbon business portfolio, and support the transformation process of CO2-intensive industries and activities.

The position paper on climate change is available for download at DZ BANK's WerteWelt.