According to the Oxford Dictionary, Sustainability refers to the ability to be continued for a long time and, thereby, the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources. For a business - limits to sustainability are determined by physical and natural resources, environmental degradation, and social resources. The concept of sustainability is composed of the following pillars: economic, environmental, social, and governmental — also known informally as profits, planet, and people.

CSR typically refers to a collection of charitable and philanthropic works performed by profit-driven companies to ‘give something back’ to the community and environment from which they have benefitted.

ESG, in contrast, is a wider conception as it includes not only social but also environmental and governance parts. The power of ESG and in particular the ‘G’ lies in its integration into a business.

ESG is broken down into three main concepts:

• Environmental - whether the organization is operating as a steward of the environment and covers environmental issues like climate change, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), deforestation, biodiversity, carbon emissions, waste management and pollution;
• Social - impact the organization has on people, culture, and communities and looks at the social impact of diversity, inclusivity, human rights and supply chains;
• Governance - how the organization is directed and looks at corporate governance factors like accurate and transparent accounting methods, executive compensation, board management practices, and shareholder rights;

The momentum behind ESG is being driven by investors, asset managers, consumers, and employees demanding transparent, purpose-led business practices that align with their values.

Green financing is a broad term that refers to increasing the level of financial flows from the public and private sectors towards sustainable development through environmentally-friendly lending or investment activities, such as purchasing environmentally-friendly goods and services or building environmentally-friendly infrastructure. We offer this at Ipotekabank primarily through our green products.

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that's produced and the amount that's removed from the atmosphere. It can be achieved through a combination of emission reduction (the six gases listed in the Kyoto Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)) and by balancing the impact of any remaining 'hard to decarbonize' greenhouse emissions with an appropriate amount of carbon removals.

Climate change refers to our planet getting warmer. Since before the industrial revolution (1850-1900), the earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.45 ± 0.12 °C, and 2023 is confirmed as the warmest year on record_**.

Climate change is the biggest challenge that humanity faces. The World Meteorological Organization urges faster action on transition to renewable energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

_**Source: World Meteorological Organization