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Green finance can help your business achieve a sustainable future. How to get it?

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Climate change is becoming the key political and economic issue of our time, a status that will persist long into the future. Around the world, governments, investors, businesses and ordinary people are beginning to address this environmental problem, and the main focus is on decarbonising the economy. However, the transition to a green, low-carbon economy requires an extraordinary influx of new capital, particularly through green finance, to support initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help adapt to the impacts of climate change. It is therefore essential to understand the importance of green finance to drive these changes. 

What is green finance? 

Green finance refers to the financing of projects, initiatives or technologies that have a positive impact on the environment. This can include financing renewable energy, energy efficiency projects, reforestation, biodiversity conservation projects and many other types of environmentally friendly activities. Green finance can take the form of loans, grants, bonds, shares or other financial instruments. 

Why should companies be interested in them? 

Green finance is becoming a key issue in both European and national environmental legislation, with individual pieces of legislation contributing to the goal of directing financial flows towards a sustainable transformation of the economy. ESG reporting requirements under ESRS standards are necessary to enable banks and investment actors to assess potential recipients of finance in terms of their contribution to sustainability. In the other direction too, the SFDR clearly sets out portfolio sustainability parameters for banks and investment funds, dividing them into dark and light green, according to the degree of sustainability of their investments. All this is supported by the EU Taxonomy, which creates a common vocabulary for financial market actors and shows what can be considered as truly sustainable economic activity, fulfilling the requirements of the Green Deal for Europe. Legislation on green bonds is also in the pipeline. For example, ČSOB, the first financial institution in the Czech Republic, has already issued CZK 1 billion of these in May 2023.

The scale of changes in the legislative field and environmental threats to society and the economy puts the question of sustainability of companies' business on the table and forces them to consider transforming their business or reducing its energy or material intensity today. The impact of rising energy prices, the geopolitical dimension of energy policy and the scarcity of critical raw materials (or even less scarce materials than lithium and tantalum - it could be wood or sand, which are in short supply globally and in the Czech Republic) are already being felt today, but may be existential factors in the future. 

Get ready for green finance: where to find it and how to get it?  

Green investments are designed to help companies raise funds to adapt their business to these challenges. However, they often provide more attractive interest rates and allow for a higher volume of capital. In addition, European subsidies offer a number of opportunities, providing large-scale funding for sustainable projects even in the context of a post-coronavirus restart of the economy. You can read more about subsidies in more detail in the next article.  

In addition to subsidies, the European Union is also meeting its climate protection objectives through the European Investment Bank, which borrows money on the capital markets and then lends it on favourable terms for projects and sustainability. At national level, the National Development Bank is an interesting source of capital, financing projects that support the sustainable economic transformation of coal regions or finance cost-saving measures in companies. 
Other players in the financial market are already developing sustainable finance programmes. An example is the CSOB Sustainable Finance Program for entrepreneurs who want to introduce sustainability principles in their business or cost-saving changes in operations. Discounted financing can be used, for example, for the installation of photovoltaics, heat pumps or waste-to-energy equipment, for investments in energy efficiency improvements or for sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly transport. 

Thanks to ČSOB and Green0meter, you get a specific solution tailored to your business processes and needs  

The list of sustainable financing options is far from ending with the financial players mentioned above. To get a detailed overview of the current opportunities, CSOB Advisory can provide you with a tailor-made analysis of soft finance options such as loan and guarantee programmes from the EIB, EIF, CEB, NRB or green bond financing. 
Green0meter, in cooperation with CSOB Advisory, provides the services necessary to obtain green finance: for example, the sustainability of the investment project must be assessed in accordance with the EU Taxonomy. We make it easy for you with our sophisticated Taxonomy Check, which saves you time and shows you whether your project qualifies as sustainable under European legislation. A company's carbon footprint is also a frequently requested piece of data that is easily obtained within our platform. In addition, the calculation is completely free for CSOB clients within Scope 1 and 2. Within the Green0meter platform, you can then manage your data on a long-term basis and have an effective overview of the effectiveness of the implemented measures.  
It may not be easy to achieve green finance without external help from experts. However, it's essential to remember that green finance is more profitable and can help you finance actions that will ensure the sustainability of your business for the future.  

Start your journey to green finance today

The list of sustainable finance options is far from ending with the financial players mentioned above. To get a detailed overview of current opportunities, CSOB Advisory can provide you with a tailor-made analysis of soft finance options such as loan and guarantee programs from the EIB, EIF, CEB, NRB or green bond financing. 
Green0meter, in cooperation with CSOB Advisory, provides the services necessary to obtain green finance: for example, the sustainability of the investment project must be assessed in accordance with the EU Taxonomy. We make it easy for you with our sophisticated Taxonomy Check, which saves you time and shows whether your project qualifies as sustainable under current European legislation. A company's carbon footprint is also a frequently requested piece of data that you can easily obtain within our platform. In addition, for CSOB clients the calculation within Scope 1 and 2 is completely free of charge. Within the Green0meter platform, you can then manage your data on a long-term basis and have an effective overview of the effectiveness of the implemented measures.  
It may not be easy to achieve green finance without external help from experts. However, it's essential to remember that green finance is more profitable and can help you finance actions that will ensure the sustainability of your business for the future.  

Start your journey to green finance today

 

author avatarAuthor: Karel Kotoun

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Take a step towards a green future.

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