MuniFin’s updated Sustainability Agenda targets a 50% reduction in emissions intensity of municipal financing by 2035 – over 70% cut for buildings

MuniFin’s updated Sustainability Agenda aims to reduce the emissions intensity of municipal budget loans by 50% from 2023 levels by 2035. Financed buildings have separate targets for the same period: a 71% reduction for residential buildings and a 73.5% reduction for other property types.

“Properties play a significant role in our Sustainability Agenda because the majority of MuniFin’s customer financing is directed towards various types of buildings. We finance essential public services such as schools and daycare centres, sports and cultural facilities, hospitals and health centres, as well as affordable social housing,” explains Elina Sääskilahti, Sustainability Manager at MuniFin.

The reduction targets for property emissions intensity have been defined in line with the 1.5-degree pathway agreed under the Paris Climate Agreement.

MuniFin’s most significant impacts on society and the environment arise through customer financing. The company’s strategy is to support the development of a sustainable welfare society and promote climate- and environmentally-friendly investments. Accordingly, the two themes of the Sustainability Agenda are supporting the welfare society and accelerating the green transition.

“We offer our customers sustainable finance under strict criteria but on more affordable terms – in other words, we have harnessed the leverage of financing to drive the sustainability transition. We stand alongside our customers in their sustainability efforts because our goals are shared. Municipalities and affordable social housing organisations have a crucial role in achieving Finland’s climate targets, for example,” says Esa Kallio, CEO of MuniFin.

In addition to monitoring the emissions trajectory of financed projects, MuniFin’s Sustainability Agenda sets a business target for the company: by 2035, at least 50% of all long-term customer finance will be sustainable – that is, green finance, social finance, or sustainability-linked loans.

Further details on the measurement of the Sustainability Agenda’s impacts and its methodology can be found here.

Download MuniFin Sustainability Agenda

Further information

Elina Sääskilahti, Sustainability Manager
elina.saaskilahti@munifin.fi
Tel. +358 41 5438 695

Esa Kallio, President and CEO
esa.kallio@munifin.fi
Tel. +358 50 3377 953