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.
Sustainable finance, sustainable growth
The EIB provides finance for projects that improve people’s lives, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.
The Bank is able to borrow money at attractive rates and plays a leading role in the green bond market.
Respect for human rights is a fundamental value at the European Investment Bank. Equality and human dignity are central to our mission.
Reducing our internal carbon footprint is consistent with our environmental and social, principles and standards for the projects we finance.
As Europe’s climate bank, we continuously evaluate, report, and improve our environmental performance
The EIB Group is committed to the highest levels of transparency in sustainability reporting. Find our latest reports.
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.
Committed to transparency and accountability
As the EU bank, we strive to be exemplary in terms of the transparency and accountability of our work. We proactively publish information and actively engage with stakeholders. The EIB Transparency policy sets the principles applying to access to information and to stakeholder engagement.
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.
In the spotlight
EIB e-learning course on its environmental and social standards
Learn about integrating environmental and social dimensions into investment projects.