Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. (2024)

Rabobank was one of the first banks to subscribe to the Equator Principles (EP), after the EP were launched in 2003. For those financial products that fall within the EP’s scope, we ask clients not only to comply with our own Sustainability Policy Framework, but also to bring into focus and to address relevant environmental and social risks according to the associated standards outlined in the EP.

Within Rabobank the commercial business lines and the central sustainability department are responsible
for the correct implementation of the EP. As part of our client sustainability assessment, we assess all transactions in scope of the EP against the requirements as outlined in the EP, whereby the relevant social, environmental and governance risks are reviewed. When clients apply for a new transaction, front office staff completes an assessment tool to ensure the correct application of the EP. The assessment includes an ESG-categorization of the project which is subject to approval by the relevant internal credit authorities.

The terminology used to categorize the projects is based on the International Finance Corporation’s categorization process, which classifies projects into high, medium, and low (environmental and social) risk (Category A, B and C respectively).

The categories are:
Category A – Projects with potential significant adverse social or environmental impacts which are diverse, irreversible, or unprecedented;
Category B – Projects with few potentially limited adverse social or environmental impacts, generally site-specific, largely reversible, and readily addressed through mitigation measures;
Category C – Projects with minimal or no social or environmental impacts.

When a potential high risk project (Category A) is identified, an internal independent sustainability assessment will be provided, with the outcome being included in the credit approval process. The relevant risks are assessed, to the extent required, mitigation measures are applied, and additional requirements for monitoring, reporting and mitigation are set.

To ensure a sufficient understanding of the Equator Principles, for staff involved in project (related) financings, Rabobank has incorporated the Equator Principles e-learning tools in its own internal learning platform.