Incentive
46 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2002
Bonds and the offers for green financing. As it turned out, the green
facility was continued after all. Despite the period of forced inactivi
ty, the Rabo Green Bank granted more than EUR 360 million in new
green loans in 2002 (EUR 320 million in 2001).This increase was
mainly due to the growth in green financing of wind turbine parks
and the overflow of Green Label Funds from 2001,as a result of the
tighter criteria for the green facility introduced with effect from
1 January 2002. Growth in biological farming stagnated.The green
loans are financed with Rabo Green Bonds. In the first half of 2002,
EUR 250 million of green funds were raised. At the end of the year
under review, there was a new issue of Rabo Green Bonds, to which
investors subscribed for an amount of EUR 375 million.
"Green" electricity
In 2002 Rabobank Group extended its contract to cover its "green"
energy requirement. Virtually all Group entities in the Netherlands
make use of the contract.The share of "green" electricity was 17%
of the total requirement. During 2003, this will be increased to a
quarter.
Index and rating
Rabobank Group's sustainability data for 2002 are the input for the
Group's Sustainability Rating in 2003.This rating, which is given by
the independent Swiss SAM institution, is an environmental, social
and financial assessment of enterprises. Globally, 32 renowned
banks are included in the SAM index.
An extensive report on sustainability and social engagement will be
included in our Annual Report 2002 People, Planet, Profit, to be
published in June 2003.
@More about sustainability and our social
engagement? Go to: www.rabobank.com
'With our respective medical and technical backgrounds,
we complemented each other in the development of the
Air Manager Pro: a heart-lung machine that makes open-
heart surgery safer. The beauty of it is that patients really
benefit from it. The Herman Wijffels Award was a great
incentive. Among other things, the money, 100,000 euros,
enabled us to pay for the CE hallmark procedure. As soon
as we have that mark of quality, we can start selling the
equipment. The award was also a mental stimulus. You
put a lot of time and money into an enterprise and have
to make some difficult choices. The award was a
confirmation that we were on the right track. Our latest
product is called Dyna-Vision. It permits the measurement
of blood circulation and cardiac functions without having
to take blood samples.'
Sander Huntelerslag and Rutger Brest, Kempen - R&S
TechMedic B.V., clients with Rabobank Alkmaar and
winners of the Herman Wijffels Innovation Award 2002
