CABEI: active agent in the region's sustainable development

Tegucigalpa, June 5th, 2021.- On June 5, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) joins in the commemoration of World Environment Day by reaffirming its commitment to environmental and social sustainability in its daily work and operations.

As part of its 2020-2024 Institutional Strategy, CABEI agreed to only finance projects whose environmental, social and climate risk assessment and monitoring, at all project cycle stages, are in line with the requirements established in its Environmental and Social Policy, in order to achieve a net positive impact.

In addition to carefully monitoring compliance with these requirements, it also promotes climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and promotes innovative financial instruments along these lines, totaling US$4.989 billion in operations of this type over the last five years.

“Being sustainable is more than a statement, it is a commitment. We at CABEI fulfill it through our Environmental and Social Policy, in effect since 2020, which we execute through our Institutional Strategy.

By setting an example, we want to motivate our Central American brothers and sisters to join our efforts and raise awareness of the need to protect and improve the environment through daily actions, whether small or large, they all add up," highlighted CABEI Executive President Dr. Dante Mossi.

With the objective of strengthening low-carbon economies and building resilient societies by promoting sustainable production, clean energy generation and resource efficiency around its projects, in April 2019, CABEI's Assembly of Governors established the Zero Carbon Declaration.

Throughout its history, CABEI has demonstrated its capacity to mobilize external resources for Climate Change with the support of strategic allies. An example of this has been the innovative operations such as the CAMBio II Program; the Costa Rican Electric Passenger Train Project, a proposal that is being studied by the Green Climate Fund to substantially improve the loan's financial conditions; and the Bio-CLIMA Project, to strengthen the Bosawás and Rio San Juan Biosphere Reserves in Nicaragua.

Green and thematic bonds are another CABEI contribution to innovating in sustainable finance. On October 31, 2019, it issued its first Global Green Bond for a total amount of US$37 million, and on November 12, 2020, it became the first Multilateral Development Bank to issue a COVID-19 Vaccine Bond for US$50 million.

Conscious actions

At CABEI we ensure that sustainability is fully integrated into our daily decisions and operations by striving to minimize and mitigate our carbon footprint.

For the third consecutive year, the administrative activities of CABEI Headquarters in Tegucigalpa maintained ISO:14001:2015 certification. CABEI's Representative Office in Costa Rica also certified its building as Carbon Neutral for the fifth consecutive year, and CABEI's facilities in El Salvador have the gold certification issued by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Since 2010, corporate volunteers in the six countries where CABEI offices are located have contributed to the planting of 17,230 trees in vulnerable areas affected by climate change, in compensation for the environmental footprint generated by paper consumption in the bank's operations. Prior to the pandemic, turtle release and beach cleaning activities were carried out in Guatemala and Panama, releasing more than 335 turtles.

On this day we reaffirm our commitment as the Central American Green Bank.