ESG information for analysts

In 2022 Helaba has become an official signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), a uniform framework for sustainable banking that was developed in a partnership between global banks and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

In 2021, Helaba joined the ESG Circle of Real Estate, or ECORE, with a view to playing an active role in designing, expanding and implementing an industry-wide ESG scoring model for real estate finance.

Since 2020, Helaba has been actively involved as a member of ICMA as a green bond underwriter in the syndication and marketing of green bonds from a wide range of issuers and in various formats. Previously, we had helped to promote the adoption of the Green Bond Principles.

Helaba became a signatory to the Energy Efficient Mortgage Action Plan (EeMAP) as a pilot bank in 2020. The aim of this initiative is to develop and promote mechanisms in financing real estate that provide incentives to acquire energy-efficient properties or to increase their energy efficiency.

Along with 172 German savings banks and eight S-Group companies, we joined the voluntary commitment of the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) in 2019. Among other things, this commitment includes a pledge to tackle climate change with the aim of ensuring our business operations are carbon neutral by 2035 at the latest.

Helaba Invest and Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) in 2018 and 2020, respectively. In doing so, we have committed ourselves to the six principles of the UN PRI and will undertake to align our investments towards sustainability, to encourage other market participants to invest sustainably and to report on our sustainable activities.

In conjunction with WIBank, we actively support the GreenTech Hub and TechQuartier in assisting start-ups in their sustainability efforts and promoting innovative business models.

Helaba has endorsed the ten principles of the UN Global Compact since 2017. These principles serve as a reference for our Code of Conduct and Lending Guidelines.

We have been a signatory of the German Diversity Charter since 2011. We take part in the German Diversity Day and publicly highlight our commitment to diversity management. Helaba strives to foster the potential and skills of all its employees irrespective of age, gender, gender identity, disabilities, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, faith, creed or social background.

Helaba Invest is a signatory to CDP (previously known as the Carbon Disclosure Project). CDP was established in the year 2000 as a London-based not-for-profit organisation and is one of the largest global investor initiatives. CDP has set itself the goal of encouraging companies and public authorities to publish their environmental data and, as a result, has successfully managed to compile one the world's most extensive databases of corporate climate-related information.

Helaba has been a supporting member of “Allianz pro Schiene e.V.” since 2024. Helaba's Asset Finance business areas focus on projects and transformation processes that shape the future of our society in a sustainable way. The transport transition is a very important goal. Our sponsoring membership of “Allianz pro Schiene e.V.” allows us to support this process together as part of a broad network.

Helaba Invest has participated in the "Responsible Investing" and "Sustainability in Real Estate Funds" working groups organised by the German Investment Funds Association (BVI) since 2021 and is actively involved in a dialogue within the fund industry. Together with other capital management companies, we foster the ongoing development of issues related to sustainability.

Since 2018, we have been supporting the Green & Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany in collaboration with WIBank, a founding member. The aim of this initiative is to bundle sustainability expertise in the German financial market and boost the long-term viability of Germany as a financial centre.

Since 2011, Helaba has been a member of VfU (the Association for Environmental Management and Sustainability in Financial Institutions), the leading industry network for sustainable finance in the German-speaking region.

WIBank is the development bank of the State of Hesse. It functions as a one-stop-shop for all matters pertaining to the promotion of infrastructure, the economy, social welfare and housing and provides support in the form of various funding programmes from the state, the federal government and the EU. It is an economically and organisationally independent, legally dependent institution within Helaba.

As a legally dependent entity within Helaba that prepares its own accounts, Landesbausparkasse (LBS) Hessen-Thüringen takes advantage of the savings bank network to market its products. It is a market leader in the home loan and savings business in the German states of Hesse and Thuringia.

Helaba's subsidiary Frankfurter Sparkasse is the regional market leader in retail banking with a foothold in direct banking via 1822direkt.

Helaba's core business field of asset management provides institutional investors with a wide range of professional asset management services.

Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft is the private bank of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. With its advisory services, it supports high-net-worth individuals and family business owners to invest their assets.

The companies of the GWH Group are active in the fields of real estate management as well as property sales, property development and real estate services.

OFB offers commercial real estate services from its offices in Frankfurt am Main, Erfurt, Berlin, Kassel, Munich, Dusseldorf and Leipzig. Its portfolio includes the planning, construction and marketing of real estate.