Every project supported by OeEB contributes to local, sustainable development. Sustainable business and sustainable growth are our tools for maintaining and developing economic, ecological and social progress. This principle characterises our treatment of colleagues, customers, principals and project partners.
We make development responsible and develop responsibility.
Sustainable practices both in our project activities and in-house are highly important to us: Under the umbrella of the proven sustainability management of the OeKB Group, we have made significant strides in this respect over the past years. Since 2012, OeEB's sustainability reporting forms part of the OeKB Group report.
The Sustainability Policy of the OeKB Group reflects our attitude and responsibility towards long-term, positive economic development.
We live diversity and mutual respect.
Diversity and inclusion are particularly important to us. We regard it as essential to create a corporate culture in which all people feel recognised and are treated fairly. Learn more about how we live diversity and inclusion.
We contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2015, the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which set a vision for the world in 2030 and range from ending poverty to providing access to affordable, clean energy and creating decent jobs and economic growth. The SDGs serve as central points of reference for our work and strategic positioning.
As part of the United Nations' 2030 Global Agenda, Austria promised to support developing countries in their implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). As the official development bank of the Republic of Austria, we consider ourselves to be one of the key institutions responsible for fulfilling this promise.
Our contribution to implementing the SDGs can be illustrated on two basic levels:
As an institution:
Our mandate specifically mentions the objective of combating poverty by means of private sector development and our role as a provider of finance which complements the classic ODA. Therefore, all our projects contribute to the achievement of SDG 1 "No poverty" and SDG 17 "Partnerships for the goals".
The specific contributions made by our projects:
Besides economic feasibility, our projects always have clear developmental goals which are geared towards the SDGs. The achievement of these project objectives is assessed annually and reported as a "main contribution" towards the respective SDG. Due to our activity in the private sector and the abovementioned thematic focus areas, these are mainly (but not exclusively):
- SDG 7 "Affordable and clean energy" (focus sector renewable energy)
- SDG 8 "Decent work and economic growth" (above all via focus sector MSME/ financial inclusion)
- SDG 9 "Industry, innovation and infrastructure" (focus sector infrastructure)
- SDG 13 "Climate action" (horizontal goal of climate financing)
Furthermore, our projects frequently realize outcomes beyond their core business area, which constitute added developmental value within the meaning of the SDGs. This is measured and reported as an "additional material contribution" (for example: promoting women employees, compliance with particularly high environmental and social standards etc.).
We compensate for our air miles with climate protection projects.
Due to the international nature of our activities, almost all of our business travel is by air. We offset the CO2 emissions from our air travel by supporting climate protection projects.
