OeEB

In terms of senior leadership accountability, the responsibility for sustainability issues within OeEB lies with the executive board. By being a signatory of the Women Empowerment Principles, the development finance institution publicly commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Furthermore, OeEB has an Impact Principles Disclosure Statement where it describes its environmental, social and governance (ESG) monitoring approach with clients. In addition, the DFI conducted a materiality analysis to assess the most relevant topics concerning sustainability at the group level.

As a member of the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) Group, OeEB has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Moreover, it discloses the aggregate amount of the portfolio invested in climate-relevant projects and a 2023 target on the percentage of investments in climate-related projects.

OeEB has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights, the ILO core labour rights, the health and safety of workers and to protect personal data. In addition, the DFI discloses the proportion of women in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category and the amount of finance it directs towards women-owned businesses. Furthermore, OeEB has a whistleblowing system accessible to all workers to raise human rights complaints or concerns.

OeEB has an opportunity to link the remuneration of its executive and management teams to sustainability performance criteria. In terms of gender equality, it could disclose the proportion of women in its highest governance body and senior leadership roles and provide evidence of actions it takes to address any gender pay gaps. Although OeEB discloses it considers discontinuing the funding to a client in case it misaligns with OeEB’s ESG requirements, the DFI has the opportunity to disclose further details on the escalation criteria in place and how the ESG monitoring has been applied in practice.

OeEB could disclose interim emissions reduction targets at the group level, such as a 45% reduction in financed emissions by 2030. It also has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Furthermore, OeEB could align its investments in climate projects with internationally recognised frameworks and disclose progress against its 2023 target on climate investing. Moreover, OeEB could commit to minimising its negative impacts on nature and biodiversity.

Although OeEB indicates that it includes human rights in its environmental and social assessments at project level financing, it has an opportunity to describe the process of identifying human rights risks across all its activities. Furthermore, it has an opportunity to describe a mechanism accessible to all the stakeholders who may be adversely impacted by its activities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. Furthermore, OeEB discloses the age of its female managers but has an opportunity to disclose this information for each employee category.