News overview
View the latest news releases from Sustainable Banking and stay informed.
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Elephant grass: a circular all-rounder
After a holiday in Borneo, Jan-Govert van Gilst had an epiphany. Seeing that entire swathes of jungle had been cleared and the beaches were overflowing with plastic, he knew something had to change. With the encouragement of his wife, Jan-Govert started with a clean slate and embarked on an adventure into the unknown. Now, five years on, thousands of bioplastic packs are rolling off his conveyor belt every day, and soon tomatoes, cold meats and biscuits – all in sustainable packaging – will be available in Dutch supermarkets.
The impact of Circl
It has almost been a whole year since ABN AMRO’s circular pavilion had it's grand opening. And a great year it has been, say director Merijn van den Bergh and ‘ambassador’ Petran van Heel – who has already introduced numerous clients to the pavilion. So what is it that makes Circl so special? More and more high-rises are being built in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. Close to the ground, and at the district’s heart, lies Circl: the bank’s circular pavilion. The wooden ‘cabin’ with pretty garden features appears as an oasis among what is mostly tall and concrete development. For Merijn van den Bergh and ABN AMRO’s Petran van Heel, the opening year was a great one. Circl has become more and more widely known as a circular hotspot, and has carved out a place for itself as a driver of circular ideas.
Circular buildings boost vitality
With Circl as a testing ground for the construction and use of a circular building, the bank has created a useful template for its other office buildings and business units. Céline Pessers, Circular Economy Manager with Facility Management, is involved in this transition every single day. After eighteen months of pioneering, tackling dilemmas and making choices, she says circularity is alive and kicking at the bank.
Commercial property on its way to energy label A
Our commercial property business unit has set the bar quite high with its sustainable ambitions: by the end of 2018, the bank wants 30% of all its financed real estate to have an average energy label A, from just 1% in 2015. Although the transition is taking place at a rapid pace, the ambition does not seem entirely realistic. But Erik Steinmaier and Olaf Rutten emphasise the great strides that have been made so far, together with clients. Underlining this progress, ABN AMRO has been crowned the most sustainable real estate bank of 2017.
A growth in transactions on the renewable energy market
The call for renewable energy is now louder than ever, and we’re currently in a transition phase. For reasons including a growing demand for energy, we can’t yet do without fossil fuels, though. The good news is that we’re seeing a big increase in renewable energy sources. Rutger van Nouhuijs, CEO of Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) talks about the goals ABN AMRO has set for itself.