The mission of the European Investment Bank is to foster sustainable growth within the EU and abroad. We are firmly committed to sustainable development, which is anchored in our strategy and remains the foundation of our business model.

Sustainability due diligence

The EIB appraises and monitors all the investment projects it finances with regard to their sustainability credentials such as environmental, social and governance aspects. Certain activities are completely excluded from EIB financing and are discarded from the beginning. All projects supported must meet EIB environmental and social principles and standards.

Furthermore, we make a separate economic appraisal of our investment projects to assess the costs and benefits to society as a whole. The economic appraisal takes account of all resources used by the project, whether human, technological or natural, often using shadow prices, including for carbon, and gauges the value the project generates to all stakeholders, to determine whether society at large gains from the investment.

Only projects that fulfil both our financial and our separate sustainability due diligence can be financed by the Bank.

Measuring the carbon footprint of our investments

We apply our carbon footprint methodology to all sectors, and not only to climate mitigation projects. We estimate and report the greenhouse gas emissions from projects where emissions are expected to be significant (i.e. above the absolute or relative thresholds). Analysis of the carbon footprint of EIB projects suggests that these two thresholds capture approximately 95% of emission from EIB’s investment projects.

The EIB also has its own internal carbon footprint which is measured separately. As Europe’s climate bank, we continuously evaluate, report and improve our environmental performance. Find out how the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) helps us to manage the environmental impacts resulting from our daily work.

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