Why your bank asks for sustainability data
When you request financing from your bank, you may receive questions about energy consumption, fuel use of your vehicle fleet, or the number of employees, in addition to the usual annual figures. This is not curiosity on the part of your account manager. Banks are themselves subject to rules that require them to report on the sustainability performance of their credit portfolio, and they must obtain that information from somewhere. With some of their customers, possibly including your company, this information is gathered during the financing conversation.
The bank is usually interested in two things: an assessment of the risk attached to the loan, and data to show its own supervisor how the portfolio looks. A company with high energy consumption per square meter or a diesel vehicle fleet may have a different risk profile for the bank than a comparable company that has already switched. This is not necessarily penalized, but it is taken into account.
What exactly is asked varies by bank
There is no fixed, uniform questionnaire that all banks use. One bank sends a short form with the application, another incorporates it into a broader conversation about business operations. Frequently recurring topics are the energy consumption of the building or business location, fuel consumption of vehicles, the number of employees, and sometimes the presence of solar panels, insulation, or an energy label. Some banks also ask whether you have already calculated your CO2 emissions, without prescribing how.
Because there is no legally defined limit on what a lender may ask its customer, the previously discussed threshold for reporting-obligated purchasers does not apply one-to-one here. That threshold concerns the supply chain provisions in the corporate sustainability reporting directive and affects the relationship between a large reporting-obligated company and its supplier. The relationship between bank and borrower is different; banks have their own supervisory obligations that may call for other data. What does help is a fixed source indicating which standard is broadly recognized for non-listed SMEs, so you know where most questions logically come from. On the overview of topics per situation esgia.eu it is set out which questions are appropriate for which type of purchaser or lender.
What you can best provide
Banks are usually not looking for an extensive sustainability report, but for a few concrete figures that match what you already have. An energy bill shows consumption in kilowatt-hours and sometimes in cubic meters of gas. Fuel receipts or an overview from the leasing company show your vehicle fleet's fuel consumption. A printout from payroll administration shows the number of employees, which is needed to adjust consumption to a size comparable to other companies. You usually already have these documents; the work is in presenting them clearly, not in collecting new data.
It is wise to ask the bank itself in what form they want to receive the figures and whether they use a fixed reference date. Some banks use established emission factors to convert consumption to CO2 emissions; which factor applies at which time changes from time to time. Once you have worked out and recorded these figures, you can reuse them at the next application or annual conversation with the bank, instead of starting from scratch each time. Via esgia.eu, the explanation of where the figures come from you can see how such a file is built from documents you already have.
What this is not
Providing this data to a bank is not an audit, certification, or legal advice about your financing terms. There is no recognized body that issues a mark of conformity for these SME figures, neither for esgia nor for any other provider. What you provide is a declaration based on documents that you yourself verify. For questions about the terms of your specific financing, discussion with the bank and, if appropriate, an adviser, remains the right place to go.
Those who prefer to answer a few questions first rather than building an entire file right away can start with the free quick scan that provides an indication in five questions. If you are still uncertain about what does and does not belong to esgia, that is clearly set out on the frequently asked questions page.