Welcome to IDB Invest’s Sustainability Update, where we share our latest achievements and the progress we have made since we published our inaugural Sustainability Report in 2022. We see this as an opportunity to demonstrate to all our stakeholders that sustainability remains core to our purpose and values and embedded in the way we run our business every day.
James Scriven, CEO
Achievements Against Our 2023 Goals
We are pleased to have achieved four of our five 2023 sustainability goals. For more information about our material issues and our sustainability goals, please see our 2022 Sustainability Report and our 2023 GRI Index for greater detail on our ESG impact and progress. The reporting period of the sustainability update covers January 2023 to June 2024. All data in the GRI Index is presented on a calendar year basis from January 2023 to December 2023.
| Our Work in Action
Investing in Nature-Based Solutions
As part of our Amazonia Forever program to accelerate the sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development of the Amazon region, we have allocated 200 million Brazilian real ($36 million) toward Natura’s Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) in Brazil. This investment aims to foster the development of bioingredients sourced from the Amazon, contribute to rainforest preservation, and support local communities, including increasing purchases from local agro-extractivist communities to help them thrive.
Our goal is to transform the Amazonian bioeconomy while preserving the rainforest. We align with Natura’s sustainability strategy through nature-based solutions to maximize impact in the Amazon.
Our Impact in Numbers (2016 – 2023)
| Our Work in Action
Refinancing Renewable Energy Projects in the Dominican Republic
Our client AES received a $368 million loan to develop and refinance six renewable energy projects in the Dominican Republic. The funding included $37 million from IDB Invest and $331 million from 21 financial institutions, marking the largest financing for renewables in the Caribbean.
Expected to generate 824 GWh annually, these projects will cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 441,000 tons CO2e – equivalent to removing 96,000 vehicles from the road – and help reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
The project was awarded the “IJGlobal ESG Renewable Energy Award – Latin America” in October 2024.
| Our Work in Action
Sustainability Week 2024
IDB Invest Sustainability Week is the leading sustainability event in Latin America and the Caribbean, tailored for sustainability practitioners. The event connects business leaders, impact investors and thought leaders from across the region and the world to advance the region’s sustainability agenda.
Sustainability Week 2024 took place in the heart of the Amazonia, in Manaus, Brazil. The agenda covered five main themes such as impact investing, Amazonia, inclusion, bioeconomy, and climate change. The event welcomed 15,000 online and onsite attendees who represented 116 countries and over 12,500 companies.
| Our Work in Action
Embedding Sustainability
We understand the strong correlation between corporate governance culture and sustainability, and our responsibility to make returns on our investments while acting with integrity.
Our Sustainability Framework is driven by a governance structure designed to promote sustainable business practices among our clients, and to finance projects that support the economic, environmental, and social development of the region.
We are also committed to reducing the impact of our own operations by reducing our environmental footprint and investing in our workforce, promoting staff mobility and fostering development opportunities. Find out more:
• 2023 GRI Index
• Sustainability at IDB Invest
• Impact Management Framework
• Corporate Governance
• IDB Invest Sustainability Report 2022 "The challenge that connect us"