Staff Reporter
THE Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) recently launched a Sustainable Finance Framework (SFF), which will serve as a reference for all green, social or sustainability bonds, loans and other debt instruments issued by the bank in the local or international capital markets.
“The Framework is aligned with the four core components of the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles 2021, Social Bond Principles 2021, Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021 as well as the Loan Market Association’s (LMA) Green Loan Principles 2023 and Social Loan Principles 2023,” DBN’s Corporate Communication and Stakeholder Relations Specialist, Di-Anna Grobler, said.
The framework, Grobler explained, has seven green categories and four social categories. She said that the green categories aim to achieve the environmental objectives of climate change mitigation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources as well as protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. The social categories, she explained, aims to achieve the social objectives of raising living standards, increasing social inclusion and improving access to essential healthcare and education.
Grobler said that S&P Global Ratings provided the bank with a Second Party Opinion (SPO) after assessing that the framework is aligned with the category principles.
“The Framework received a strong alignment score across the Use of Proceeds section given a clear description of eligible categories and sustainability objectives, and the reporting section, given DBN will report both the expected and achieved environmental and social impacts of financed projects via the engagement of an external reviewer,” Grobler said.
She said that the SFF provides a reference for all green, social or sustainability bonds, loans and other debt instruments issued by the bank to fund DBN’s investment in eligible Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) projects.
The bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Martin Inkumbi, said that DBN intends to become the go-to ESG bank in Namibia. The launch of the SFF, he added, is therefore an important milestone for the bank’s sustainability journey.
Inkumbi also revealed that the SFF, which is available on DBN’s website, was launched in advance of a planned debut sustainable bond issuance to be launched in the second half of 2023.