Green Finance Takes Root In Poland

With war in Ukraine, post-pandemic economic and social disruptions, and soaring inflation and energy prices, the shift to renewable energy sources is accelerating. Companies and financial institutions the world over are paying more and more attention to sustainability. Poland's first ESG initiatives took place as early as 2016, when the country launched the world's first EUR 750m government green bonds.

Poland's sustainability finance is run from the bottom up by banks rather than by government authorities. Polish banks annually publish their strategies, including activities, goals and milestones to be achieved to support sustainable development. One example is mBank, which has said that it will become fully climate-neutral by 2050 thanks to its strategy of introducing environmental covenants and financing conditions, but also of using renewable energy sources and eliminating plastic cards. Meanwhile, ING Bank Polski has declared that it will donate PLN 2m to support