OREANDA-NEWS. ING Commercial Banking has increased the volume of financing by 7% for sustainable clients and projects in the first half year of 2015, reaching over €20.9 billion in comparison to year-end 2014. “This is in line with ING’s target to grow its financing of sustainable transitions and includes loans to renewable energy schemes, environmental outperformers and other sustainability projects,” reports Leonie Schreve, ING Global Head of Sustainable Finance.

  • Loans attributed to sustainable projects and clients doubled
  • Diversified to multiple areas of the sustainability- from water to waste recycling
  • Researched circular economy business models and how to finance them
  • Implemented new restrictions on financing lignite, mining and power stations

In addition to financing renewable energy, the bank increased its lending in the areas of energy efficiency, greenhouse gas and waste reduction, sustainable real estate and public transport. Lending attributed to such projects has almost doubled, increasing from €768 million in Year end 2014 to €1.4 billion in June 2015.

Shreve adds, “ING Bank’s focus is not limited to energy related areas, but also includes water, waste and other sectors of its mainstream portfolio, collaborating with companies who are transitioning to become tomorrow's leaders in sustainability.”

ING's efforts in supporting clients in the transition to a sustainable economy were also highlighted in a recent report issued by the bank, which looked at the challenges faced by businesses shifting towards a “circular economy” model and the prerequisites for financing circular economy business models.

ING has also updated its ESR policies, which includes new restrictions on the financing of lignite-fired power, mining and power stations and encourages clients to diversify their power production activities. The bank will also be monitoring its lending activity to businesses that rely almost exclusively on coal as a power source in countries where other fuel sources are widely available.

Significant sustainability focussed deals completed by ING include the USD 143 million financing of Project Semangka, a hydroelectric power plant in Indonesia, which will generate clean energy for the next three decades and will reduce C02 emissions by an estimated 200,000 tonnes per year. ING has also provided USD 800 million in financing to solar-powered ITN Towers in Africa. This will greatly improve telecom infrastructure across parts of the continent that have limited connectivity to power grids.